I'd Get You Out
by Minstrel164
Summary: Castle finds himself kidnapped whilst on a book tour. Will Beckett, his partner, move heaven and earth to get him back safe and sound?
1. Chapter 1

**I got the idea for this story after watching the final scene in the episode **_**Anatomy of A Murder. **_**As is the usual case the idea refused to stay in my head. I don't know where this story is heading and where it will end but the fun part the journey itself. I hope you like the first chapter.**

I'd Get You Out

Chapter 1

"_Don't worry Castle, I'd get you out..."_

Her words echoed in Castle's head. He couldn't help but smile at the words and it grew as he remembered the scene in Precinct. He had been arguing with Esposito over a hypothetical prison term and he'd learned with dismay that Esposito would leave him in jail to rot while he made an escape. Then Beckett had strolled past and tossed those words at him in a nonchalant way. It might have looked like a throw away line but he caught the deeper meaning. It had left him stunned and unable to speak. Thinking about it now...

Castle winced at the sudden pain that exploded across his jaw. Instinctively his hand reached up to gingerly touch the side of his jaw where he had been punched. His left eye was starting to close up. Breathing was a little difficult as every deep breath he took brought with its own wave of pain. He had to remind himself to take shallow breaths.

He didn't need to examine himself to know that he would have a number of bruises all over his body. His ribs hurt from the kicking he had received following the punch to the jaw. They were definitely bruised and it would not have surprised him if one or two were broken. His head throbbed from the pistol whipping.

The attack had been fast as it had been sudden. He had emerged from the cantina having finished the meal with his locale guide when they had descended on him. They materialised from the shadows like dark ghostly wraiths. He had no chance to defend himself. Even if he had time to try there were too many of them and they still would have overpowered him.

He was sitting on a cot in in the a small dark cell. A single light bulb was suspended from the middle of ceiling. It struggled desperately to illuminate the cell. He was grateful at having to take shallow breaths as the cell smell rank. The various putrid aromas were making his head spin or was that because of the pistol whipping?

He had no idea how long he had been imprisoned in the cell. His captors had taken his watch before they threw him in here. They also relieved him of his other valuables, wallet, credit cards and phone.

As the fog in his head slowly began to clear a little Castle began to remember a little bit of his kidnapping. Though nearly being beaten senseless he remembered being bound and gagged before being bundled into the trunk of a car. The journey had not been too long but the car had wound this way and that travelling over hard tarmac for a short while before there was a long pause.

He deduced that they must have reached some border post. While stationary Castle had heard voices and his hopes rose that the trunk would be opened and he would be discovered and rescued. But the officious voices asked cursory questions and did not seem too interested in wanting to inspect the car. His hopes of rescue deflated.

Then when the car resumed driving he felt it crossing a bridge. There was more travel on a hard tarmac before the driver went off road. The driver seemed to make it a point to find all the ruts making it an even more unpleasant ride for him.

Then the car had come to a stop where he got hauled out of the car and dragged into what looked like a warehouse. He noticed his captors were all wearing balaclavas. They removed his gag and the bonds before he was thrown unceremoniously into the cell. That was the last he saw of them.

"Where the hell am I?" he wondered aloud.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Kate Beckett had been tossing and turning all night long unable to fall into a deep sleep. She would fall into a fitful sleep only to waken a short time later. She looked over to the bedside table and saw the time. 4.30am.

Exhaling a sigh of frustration she sat up in bed. A feeling of dread descended upon her. It was not the kind of dread she felt when her phone rang in the middle of the night, a call from the precinct to inform her a body had dropped. This feeling was different. She could not explain it.

Usually after she got a call from the precinct the feeling of dread would last only for a short while. She could shake it off as she prepared to head out to the crime scene. She steeled herself for whatever confronted her. She was able to change from Kate Beckett, citizen to Detective Kate Beckett, homicide detective.

This feeling she was experiencing was much, much different. It was something that she could not put her finger on. A nameless emotion dark and ominous. This was a feeling that she could not shake off.

Kate reached over to the beside table and picked up her phone. She checked her messages. All through day she had been getting messages from Castle, little witty things that brought a smile to her face. He might have been away but he could sense when she needed a little Castle pick-me-up.

He was away on a book signing tour in Texas. She checked the time of the last message. It had come in at 8.30pm and he was informing her that he was going to try one of the local TexMex restaurants. After that nothing.

The past couple of times he had gone away on a book tour he would bombard her with messages morning, noon and night. If she was working on a case he would pester her for information, wanting to know how the case was going. She would respond and he would duly message back with his usual and unique Castle insights or outlandish theories.

There was even one time when he kept her up all night exchanging messages that she had gone into working feeling tired and desperately in need of sleep. It had started off about the case but had progressed to inane silliness. It would have made more sense to just call her up but at the time he hadn't thought of it. Come to think of it neither did she. They had acted like a pair of love struck teenagers. She smiled at the memory.

Kate was about to call his number when she remembered what time it was. The phone was returned to the beside table. Throwing aside the blankets she got out of bed. She knew there was no way of getting any more sleep and needed something else to occupy her mind. Her eyes went to the other side of her bed.

Doctor Motorcycle Boy...no, his name is Josh, she had to remind herself and hated it that now even she was calling him Doctor Motorcycle Boy when she was alone. Josh had promised to come over last night but he hadn't showed up. Instead he had called to let her know that there had been some emergency at the hospital and he was needed. She understood and didn't begrudge him any more than he did when she was suddenly called out at all hours to a new murder scene.

The feeling of dread grew deeper though. She told herself that was she was being irrational as she headed for the shower. There was nothing wrong and she was just being being silly. The real reason she couldn't sleep had more to do with the amount of coffee she had consumed the day before she reminded herself firmly.

Try as she might she couldn't shake of this feeling that had enveloped her like a blanket.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"_Sir Joshua, so we finally meet on the field of honour." Sir Richard said with a smile on his face._

_He stared at his opponent standing several feet away from him._

"_We do indeed, Sir Richard." Sir Joshua replied, a confident almost arrogant look on his face. His hand rested easily on the pommel of his sheathed sword._

_The two warriors stood in the middle of a clearing with the sun yet to rise. There was a chill in the morning air. A mist clung to the ground._

"_To the winner the hand of the fair Lady Katherine." Sir Joshua added._

_Both men turned to look at the woman standing not far away. She was dressed against the cold of the early morning in a long dark green cloak that matched her eyes. Her hair, long and brown was unbound which the breeze played with. Her face was a mask. Sir Richard could tell that she did not want to be here to witness what was about to unfold and yet she would not leave. _

_Sir Richard smiled at Lady Katherine and when she did not react he waggled his eyebrows. His smile deepened when he got a reaction from her. She rolled her eyes and shook her head._

_Sir Richard watched her intently as she walked towards them. He could not help but think how beautiful she looked even at this cold hour of the morning. She seemed to glide across the misty ground. He had written so many poems to her such was the inspiration he found in her. He would write many more. In his head were the beginnings of yet another poem._

_He had met her three years ago when she had been waylaid by brigands on the road. He had ridden to her rescue. From the moment he had laid eyes on her he had been captivated. In time he had become her champion and had fought many battles on her behalf. She was a feisty and strong willed woman. And had told him that she needed no champion but yet had deigned for him to be her champion. She was like no other he had ever met and somewhere along the line she had captured his heart._

"_Good sirs, I beseech you both to end this madness." Lady Katherine said looking from Sir Joshua to Sir Richard. "This will end in tears."_

"_Nay, my lady this we can not do." Sir Joshua said firmly._

"_We must settle this matter in the only way we know." Sir Richard said gently._

"_I have prayed God that you both finally see sense but I see now that he has forsaken me as you good sirs have."_

"_Do not fret, fair lady this will be over shortly." Sir Richard said a small grin playing on his lips._

_Sir Richard saw the look of concern rising in her eyes as she regarded him._

"_Is there nothing I can say that will make you leave this field?"_

_The question was said to the both of them but Sir Richard knew that she had directed it to him. In that moment he finally knew how she truly felt about him. His heart leaped and somersaulted. He graced her with a smile. She did not return the smile but he saw something in her eyes that spoke volumes._

"_Lady, please depart from this field so we may conclude this business." Sir Joshua said trying to control his anger._

_Lady Katherine looked at Sir Joshua and then at her champion Sir Richard. Suddenly she shook her head turned and marched away, muttering darkly under her breath._

"_What did she say?" Sir Richard asked as she watched her return to the edge of the clearing._

"_Something about, why don't we take them out and measure them, I believe." Sir Joshua replied._

"_What, our swords?"_

_Sir Joshua shrugged his shoulders. _

_Sir Richard looked one final time at the woman who was in his thoughts morning, noon and night and had taken residence in his heart. Slowly he turned and faced Sir Joshua who was dressed in his usual black leather tunic and hose._

"_So, a fight to the death." Sir Joshua declared with a smile on his face._

_Sir Richard's eyebrows rose skywards in surprise. This had not been part of the original agreement that now found them standing in the middle of this clearing. Sir Joshua was very serious about removing his rival._

"_Let it be so." Sir Richard replied and nodded his head._

_The two warriors took several steps back without taking their eyes off each other. At the same time they drew their swords. Sir Richard lifted his sword to salute his opponent. In that moment Sir Joshua launched his first attack, rushing at the white tunicked Sir Richard. Sir Richard just had time to bring down his sword and parry the on thrusting sword. He spun around and got ready as Sir Joshua turned and faced his opponent again._

"_No quarter, eh Sir Joshua?" He said with a grin._

"_No quarter, to the death." Sir Joshua replied his face full of anger._

_Sir Joshua rushed at Sir Richard with his sword raised and aimed at the other man's head. The swords shrieked shrilly as they made contact._

_For ten minutes the two warriors continued to fight with a ferocity that surprised each other. The clearing was filled with the metallic clash of shrieking banshees. Sir Richard was surprised at the speed and strength of Sir Joshua and wondered how long he could keep this up. Sir Richard knew that he could not keep this up for much longer. His sword arm had gone numb from the continuous sword clashes. Only will power was making him continue._

_Sir Joshua's eyes lit up when he sensed that he had the upper hand in this contest. He saw Sir Richard was breathing heavily, his blocking moves were not as swift as they had been at the start. Sensing victory was only moments away he launched yet another furious attack. Swinging his sword back and forth he quickly had Sir Richard backtracking. Summoning all his strength he swung his sword and caught the other sword low down. His eyes watched as the other sword flew out of Sir Richard's hand._

_Sir Richard saw the triumphant gleam in his opponent's eyes. There was no hint of mercy in them. Sir Richard felt his heart sink. He had failed. He had failed her. He wanted to take one final look on the face that had captured his heart but he did not. He stared at his triumphant opponent. A great sadness consumed him as he waited for the inevitable._

_With a smile on his face Sir Joshua lunged forward, sword levelled. Sir Richard tensed. He heard an anguished scream... _

Castle awoke from the dream with a start. One arm clutched at his ribs while the other covered his stomach. His heart raced like a runaway horse and he found that he could not breathe. Panic began to take hold as he struggled to take a breath, pain lanced through his chest as he tried to suck in air.

Shallow breaths a tiny voice said inside his head and he obeyed. The pain eased away and his racing heart was reined in.

He opened his eyes and looked up. Immediately there was something wrong, his vision seemed unusual. Staring at the ceiling he wondered where he was.

Lifting up his head he looked about and realised where he was. He let his head drop back. He was grateful that the throbbing in his head had subsided. Understanding came to him for his funny vision. His left eye had closed up and he couldn't see out of it. I must have a pretty good shiner, he thought to himself.

He thought about the dream he had just experienced. It made him shudder at first but the more he thought about it he could not help but smile. Ever the writer he thought it could be turned into a pretty good story. With him writing it, it would be a great story. Only he would change the ending. Definitely he would change the ending.

Slowly Castle rose up into a sitting position. His injured ribs complained about the movement but he forced himself to ignore the complaint. A wave of dizziness overcame him and he had to steady himself. The dizziness passed after a few moments. His body shivered The cell was cold. His captors could have provided a blanket but they hadn't. He rested his head against the wall of his cell.

Castle's attention was drawn to the sounds on the other side of the cell door. A small peep hole was opened. Castle saw a man in a balaclava peer in. The peep hole was closed and then a small hatch at the bottom of the door was drawn open and a plate of food was shoved through.

Castle watched as a plate skidded along the floor to come to a halt a couple of feet from the door. Breakfast he thought to himself, or it could be lunch, or maybe dinner? He looked from the plate of food to the door.

"Hey guys." Castle called out. "I could do with a toilet break."

The hatch was slid shut. A couple of moments later the door was unlocked. It opened a little and a plastic bucket was tossed in. The bucket landed close to the plate of food and rattled around the floor before coming to a stop. The door was closed and locked.

"Any chance of some toilet paper, guys?"

His request was greeted with muffled laughter from the other side of the cell door. Castle shrugged, it was worth a try. His eyes fell on the plate of food sitting on the floor. A growling from his stomach informed him that he had not eaten for some time. It was a good sign that his captors were taking the trouble to feed him. They were not going to kill him. At least not yet.

Slowly Castle rose off the cot and stood up. He felt a wave of dizziness overcame him. For a moment he thought he would topple over. He stood stock still until the dizziness passed away. He took one tentative step forward and then another. His legs felt a little rubbery but he was pleased that he stayed upright.

Reaching the spot where the food was he slowly knelt down and picked up the plate. His captors had given him a glutinous concoction of rice and beans. They could have supplied some tortillas, he mused. He shuffled back to the cot and sat down. As soon as he sat down he realised that he had to go.

Quickly he got to his feet and made for the bucket. As soon as he got up he realised that it had been a mistake. He had taken only a couple of steps before his head started to spin wildly. His legs felt even more rubbery than before. He lost balance and felt himself falling. This is not going to end well, he thought to himself.

He landed on the ground with a thud.

"Ouch." He gasped loudly before the darkness consumed him once again.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Kate Beckett walked into the bullpen around seven o'clock. There was hardly anyone there at this time of the morning except for a couple of detectives from the night shift. She waved to them in greeting and headed for her desk. Ryan and Esposito had not shown up and she did not expect them to. When a case had been wrapped up and there was only paperwork left to do they usually came in late.

After dumping her bag and keys on the desk Beckett reached for her phone again, checking to see if she had received any messages. She had sent Castle a message before she had left her apartment and a couple of more on the drive into the precinct. The third message she had sent almost caused her to run into the back of a cab. She had been more concerned about sending the text message that she didn't pay attention to the road ahead. Checking her phone now, she saw there had been no response from Castle.

Setting the phone down on her desk she grabbed her coffee mug and headed into the break room to get herself a cup of coffee. Returning to her desk a couple of minutes later with a steaming fresh cup of coffee she sat down. She tried hard not to let it show but she was starting to be concerned. It was so unlike Castle not to respond. That worm of worry was slowly growing within her.

Biting her lower lip she reached for her phone and hit his speed dial number. She heard the phone ring several times and it went to his voice mail. The sound of his voice only barely eased her concerns.

"Hey Castle." She said, trying hard not to sound worried. "It's me. Give me a call when you get this."

Beckett rang off and put the phone down. Though she had tried to sound light and normal, if there was one man who could see right through that it was Castle. The man had an almost uncanny ability to sense her moods and react accordingly. She knew the second he got the message he would be ringing through.

She glanced across to the empty chair beside her desk. Quickly she looked away not wanting to think about what might be preventing him from contacting her. She turned her attention to the stack of files in her intray. Getting stuck into the waiting paperwork would take her mind off her concern. At least she hoped it would.

"Morning Beckett." Detective Esposito called out as he dropped into his chair at his desk.

Beckett looked up from her work.

"Morning Esposito."

She glanced at her watch and saw the time was 8.30. She was working steadily for an hour and a half. That surprised her. She picked up her phone and checked for any messages. Again there were none.

A couple of minutes later Detective Ryan made his appearance. He greeted his partner and Beckett in turn and then sat down at his desk.

Beckett finished the file she had been working and consigned it into her outray. She was reaching for another file when she paused and looked over to Ryan and Esposito.

"Hey guys," She called out. "You haven't heard from Castle by any chance?"

"Why would Castle be calling us?" Ryan said as he glanced across to his partner.

Beckett responded by shrugging her shoulders.

"He's only been gone a few days." Ryan added.

"Don't tell us you're missing him all ready?" Esposito said with a small grin.

Beckett gave him a glare.

"Forget I asked." She announced and turned back to her work.

"Nah we haven't heard from him." Ryan said.

Beckett opened the file from her intray and started working on it. She heard her two partners chuckling to each other. No doubt sharing a joke at her expense she thought. She felt a little embarrassed at having even mentioned it. Once more she told herself not to worry, she was being silly. Yet the more she tried not to worry the deeper the feeling that had woken her up became.

She reached for her empty coffee mug and got to her feet. She headed into the break room for another cup of coffee. As she was emerging from the break room she saw the lift open and Alexis emerge. On seeing Beckett Alexis rushed over to her.

"Hey Alexis, what are you doing here?"

"Can I talk to you Detective Beckett?"

Concern was writ large across the younger Castle's face. Beckett waved her into the break room.

Alexis turned and looked at the detective.

"What's the matter?" Beckett asked, her own face full of concern.

"Has Dad been in contact with you?" Alexis asked.

"Why would your father be contacting me?"

Alexis tilted her head a little and gave Beckett a tight lipped smile.

"Detective Beckett..."

"Please call me Kate."

"Kate, I know you and Dad are close."Alexis said.

Beckett's eyebrows arched up in surprise.

"It's ok." Alexis hurriedly. "I think it's great."

Beckett didn't think Alexis had come down to the precinct to discuss her father's love life.

"What are you doing here, Alexis? Shouldn't you been in school?" Beckett said. She wasn't about to discuss Castle's private life either.

"It's Dad." The worry and concern returned to Alexis' young face.

"What? Has something happened?" Beckett's face mirrored the younger Castle's face.

"It's what hasn't happened."

Beckett saw that Alexis was close to tears. She took Alexis by the arm and escorted her over the

couch. They sat down together.

"Whenever Dad is away he will always call or send me texts."

Beckett nodded her head.

"No matter where he is, he'll call just to say goodnight or text me."

"And this time he hasn't?"

Alexis shook her head. "I got a text around 8.30pm to say he was going out to dinner but after that nothing."

Beckett felt an icy hand wrap itself around her heart as the feeling of dread intensified.

"Maybe he just forgot?" Beckett suggested.

"No, Dad never forgets." Alexis said firmly. "It doesn't matter what he's doing he will either call or send a message."

Beckett knew that was true, she had seen it for herself many times. She found it an endearing trait about him.

"I tried calling him but only got his voice mail last night so I sent him several texts." Alexis said.

"And nothing?"

Alexis shook her head.

"I tried again this morning and still no response. Grams hasn't heard from him either and she's worried too.

Beckett was now really worried about Castle. Her instincts told her something had happened to him. She was not about to tell Alexis. She was worried enough as it was and didn't need to hear Beckett's thoughts.

"I think something's happened to him." Alexis declared and started to cry.

Beckett felt for the young girl. She reached over and put her arms around her.

"I'm sure he's fine." Beckett said but not believing it.

"I didn't know what to do, so I came here."

"It's ok, Alexis, I'm glad you did."

Beckett gave Alexis a tight hug before she released her. Alexis wiped the tears from her eyes, looking a little embarrassed for crying.

"We'll find Castle." Beckett promised.

Alexis nodded her head.

"Did he tell you where he would be going on his book tour?"

Alexis thought for a moment before she shook her head.

"He only called to say where he was but he didn't which cities he was going to."

Beckett nodded her head. Castle had done the same thing to her.

"He called from El Paso." Alexis added.

Beckett nodded.

"Gina or Paula should know." Alexis suggested. "Maybe I should give them a call?"

"Leave that to me." Beckett rose to her feet and offered the girl a smile. "Maybe you should get going to school?"

A frown settled on Alexis' face as she looked up at Beckett.

"I don't think I could really concentrate on school today, I'll only be worrying about Dad...and Grams."

Beckett nodded her head in understanding.

"Then let's get you home."

Alexis rose to her feet. They walked out of the break room.

"Esposito." Beckett called out. "Can you run Alexis home?"

Detective Esposito looked from Beckett to Alexis back to Beckett. He had a question on his lips but it died the moment he saw the look on Beckett's face.

"Sure thing Beckett." Esposito said as he got to his feet. "Come on Lexi."

Alexis looked up at Beckett.

"You will..?"

"I'll keep in touch. When I know anything you'll be the first I call, ok?" Beckett told her.

"Thanks Kate."

Alexis gave the detective a hug which Beckett returned. She watched as Alexis and Esposito disappeared in the lift.

Detective Ryan left his desk and walked over to where Beckett was standing.

"What gives?" He asked.

"Castle has gone missing." Beckett informed him. She turned and walked to her desk and sat down. Ryan followed her.

"What do you need?"

Beckett was grateful Ryan refrained from his usual jokes and asides. He was all business. She stared down at her desk as she gathered her thoughts. Suddenly she looked up at him.

"Could you do a ring around of the local hospitals along the Texas border. Start with El Paso. Also check in with the local police departments."

"I'm on it." Ryan announced and headed back to his desk.

Beckett reached for her phone and started to search her phone book when her desk phone started ringing.

"Beckett." She announced. She listened for a moment and then quickly jotted down an address on a note pad.

Beckett put the phone down. A frown creased her face as she looked at the address she had written down. A body had dropped. Looking up she scanned the bullpen. Her eyes found Kapowski.

"Hey Kapowski, you got anything on at the moment?"

"Nah, just paperwork." Detective Kapowski replied.

Beckett tore off the sheet from her note pad and held it up.

"Got a case for you."

Kapowski came over to Beckett's desk a look of surprise etched on her face.

"You giving me your case?"

"I've got something on. Do you want it or not?"

Kapowski snatched the paper from Beckett's outstretched hand before Beckett had a chance to change her mind.

"I want it. Thanks."

Captain Montgomery had witnessed the scene between Beckett and Kapowski. He couldn't believe that he had seen his best detective handing over a case to another detective. It was not like Beckett to do such a thing. The frown on his face deepened.

"Beckett, my office." He commanded.

"Sir..."

"Now!"


	5. Chapter 5

**For those who have taken the trouble to write a review I thank you. I always appreciate your responses.**

**The usual disclaimer: I don't own them etc etc...**

Chapter 5

_...Rick stood at the edge of the tarmac of the darkened aerodrome. Some distance across the tarmac shrouded by the mist that had descended was the plane. A couple of ground crew moved slowly around the fuselage checking the plane, getting it ready for its departure. The lights from within the plane provided some light for the groundcrewmen. As he stared at the plane he wished he could be going on it too. He pulled the brim of his hat lower over his eyes at a rakish angle. Not for the first time this night he wondered if he was doing the right thing. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his trench coat to try and keep them warm against the cold night air._

_In the distance was heard an approaching car. Rick turned at the sound. _

"_Ah they have arrived." Said Captain Esposito, stating the obvious. Rick glanced at the captain. Captain Esposito shot his companion a quick grin and started to walk towards where the car had stopped near the hanger. Rick followed beside him._

_Rick's heart skipped a beat the moment he saw her emerge from the back of the car. In that moment he wanted to abandon the plans he had set in motion. He wanted nothing more than to take her by the hand and together race into the night, not caring about whatever dangers lay ahead. But he remained stock still, barely able to breathe. Just watching her. She turned and saw him standing there. She offered him a small warm smile. That special smile he knew was reserved for only for him. _

_Next out of the car was Dr Josh Davidson._

"_Javier, have your driver go with Dr Davidson to take care of their luggage." Rick said._

"_Certainly, Rick." Captain Esposito said with a bow of his head. He motioned to the driver who nodded and escorted the doctor away._

_Rick watched the doctor depart. He removed the letters of transit from his pocket and handed them to the captain._

"_You fill in the names on the letters of transit, Javier. It will make it more official." Rick said._

"_Naturally." Captain Esposito chirped as he walked to the hanger with the important documents._

"_And the names are Mr and Mrs ...Josh and Kate Davidson." Rick added._

_Captain Esposito stopped dead in his tracks. He spun around with an astonished look on his face._

"_Why my name, Rick?" Kate asked. She too had been surprised._

"_Because you're getting on the plane."_

_Confusion creased Kate Beckett's face as she stared at Rick._

"_I don't understand." She said. "What about you?"_

"_I'm staying here with Javier till the plane is safely away."_

"_No, Rick." Kate said firmly. "No. What's happened? Last night we said..."_

"_We said a lot of things last night." Rick said hurriedly. "You wanted me to do the thinking for the both of us." Rick moved to stand in front of her. "Well I've done a lot of that since then and it adds up to one thing. You're getting on the plane with the doctor where you belong."_

"_Rick, no...no.." Kate stammered as the tears welled in her eyes._

_Rick could feel his own heart breaking as he gazed at her. He put his hands on her arms. He wanted to crush her to his chest but he restrained himself._

"_You have to listen to me Kate." He said. "Do you have any idea what you'd have to look forward to if you stayed here? Nine out of ten chances we'd both end up in prison. Isn't that right, Javier?"_

_Captain Esposito paused in filling in the letters of transit and looked at them._

"_I'm afraid the major would insist on it." Captain Esposito informed her._

_Kate refused to believe it. She stared up Rick._

"_You're just saying that to make me go."_

"_I'm saying it because it's true. He needs you. Inside of us we both know you belong on the plane. If the plane leaves the ground and you're not on it, you'll regret it._

"_No. I wont." Kate said firmly, shaking her head._

_Rick smiled gently at her. "Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of your life."_

"_What about us?"_

_Rick's smile deepened as he drew closer. He could smell cherries._

"_We'll always have New York." He whispered. "We lost it but then you came to Casablanca and we got it back last night."_

"_I said I would never leave you."_

"_And you never will." Rick sighed. "But you have a job to do and I've got a job to do too. Where I'm going you can't follow. What I've got to do you can't be a part of."_

_He paused as he gazed at her._

"_Kate I'm no good being noble , but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy mixed up world. Someday you'll understand that."_

_Tears streamed down Kate's face._

_Rick's heart was breaking piece by piece as he gazed into her green shiny eyes filled with tears. He hated himself for making her cry, hated himself at sending her away, hated this whole situation. He reached out and placed his hand under her chin and tilted her face up. He smiled at her once more._

"_Here's looking at you kiddo." He whispered._

_Rick gently stroked her face as if he was trying memorise every inch of it but there was no chance of ever forgetting this woman. She was indelibly burned into his memory, his heart, his very soul. He removed his hand reluctantly and stepped back. He could feel his own tears ready to come to the surface. He fought them down. He turned at the sound of approaching footsteps._

"_Is everything in order?" Dr Davidson enquired as he walked up to Kate and put his arm around her shoulders drawing her close. He did not notice Kate's tears._

_Captain Esposito handed Rick the signed letters of transit._

"_It is."Captain Esposito replied._

"_All except for one thing." Rick said looking at the handsome doctor. "There's something you should know before you leave."_

_The small smile on the doctor's face faltered and his body stiffened a little as he looked at Rick._

"_Mr Castle there's no need for you to explain anything."_

"_I'm going to anyway because it may make a difference to you later on. You said you knew about me and Kate."_

_Dr Davidson's face hardened and he only nodded his head._

"_What you didn't know was that Kate was at my place last night." _

_The Doctor's eyes narrowed with suspicion as he stared at Rick._

"_She came there for the letters of transit." Rick said quickly and then paused as he glanced at Kate. "Isn't that true, Kate?"_

"_Yes." Kate whispered._

_Rick let a small grin reach his lips. "Oh she tried everything to get them and nothing worked. She did her best to convince me that she was still in love with me, but that was all over long ago. For your sake she pretended it wasn't and I let her pretend."_

"_I understand." Said Dr Davidson stiffly._

_Rick glanced at the letters of transit he held in his hand. He held them out to Dr Davidson._

"_Here they are." He said._

_Dr Davidson accepted the offered documents. He looked down at them for a moment before he looked back at Rick, confused._

"_What changed your mind?"_

"_Because it's too dangerous for you here, because you're needed elsewhere..." Rick's voice trailed off and he finished the sentence with a shrug of his shoulders. He could not tell the man the real reason._

"_Thanks." Dr Davidson replied, smiling. He removed his arm from Kate's shoulders and held out his hand to Rick. Rick shook the extended hand._

"_Welcome back to the fight, Mr Castle."_

_One of the engines spluttered and coughed into life as the propellers turned slowly and then rapidly spun into life. Everyone turned to look at the plane as the pilots readied it for take off. The second engine burst into life as well._

_Dr Davidson looked to Kate and gave her a smile._

"_Are you ready?" He asked._

"_Yes."_

_Kate turned back to look at Rick. She saw the expressionless look on his face. She knew that it was a mask because she saw the deep anguish in his blue eyes. Tears welled up in her eyes again. Once more she gave him her special smile._

"_Goodbye Rick."_

"_You'd better hurry or you'll miss that plane." He replied._

_He saw her mouth the words...I love you._

"_Always" He whispered._

_Rick watched as Kate and Dr Davidson hurried towards the waiting plane. He felt such an emptiness, the likes of which he had never felt before. He had read somewhere once that if you loved someone sometimes you had to let them go. He had done that but instead of feeling better he was feeling worse. There was a sharp pain in his chest every time he took a breath. He grasped at the consolation that she would be safe. It was of little comfort._

_Captain Esposito came to stand beside Rick. He turned his head to look at him and saw the look of devastation etched on the man's face. He could not help but shake his head in disbelief before turning his attention to the plane._

_Both men saw the door of the plane closed by one of the ground crew. The man rushed down the stairs and pulled them away from the plane. The engines were run up to power and the aircraft slowly taxied away. A few minutes later the plane had reached the end of the runway. It paused for only a minute as the pilots completed their final checklist. The engines came to full power and the aircraft lumbered down the runway gaining speed with each passing moment. Half way down the runway the wheels left the ground and the plane headed up into the night sky. A few minutes later it disappeared into the clouds with only the drone of the roaring engines fading away slowly._

_Captain Esposito turned his gaze from the dark cloud covered sky back to the man standing next to him. Rick continued to stare at the sky._

"_I can't believe you let her go, man." he said._

"_It's the only way she'll be safe, Javier."_

"_I thought she was the woman of your dreams?"_

"_She was...she is."_

_Rick let out a long sigh as he turned to look at the captain._

"_Man, what you did was..." Captain Esposito shook his head again._

"_Noble?" Rick offered._

"_No, stupid. Very, very stupid..."_

"That was... very, very stupid." Said the voice.

Castle was dragged from the dream and brought to consciousness by the unfamiliar voice. He opened his eyes.

"Very stupid I must say." Said the man.

Castle found that he was laying on the cot. He remembered he had fallen on the floor but how he got into the cot, he had no idea. He winced at the sharp stab of pain in his chest when he tried to take a deep breath.

"I think you may have broken a couple of ribs when you fell down." Said the man.

Castle closed his eyes and reminded himself to take shallow breaths. "Tell me something I don't know." He muttered.

"It was stupid of you to move about quickly."

"I'm well known for doing stupid things, as people keep telling me." Castle said.

Castle opened his eyes and looked up at the man standing over him. He could not see the man's face clearly as it was in silhouette. He could tell that the man was not wearing a balaclava.

"Where am I?" Castle asked.

"Where you are is of no consequence."

"You'll forgive me if I beg to differ?"

The man chuckled. "Let's just say you are somewhere they wont find you."

"And who are you?" Castle asked.

"My name doesn't matter."

Castle looked up at the man. His good eye had adjusted to the dim light of the cell. The man was around six foot tall, solidly built and was dressed in a green military shirt and blue jeans. He sported a dark neatly trimmed goatee beard and a closely shaved head. He pegged him to be about early to mid thirties.

"I can think of a few names to call you." Castle said with a laugh.

Castle stopped laughing and winced at the sharp pain in his chest. Once more he had to force himself to take shallow breaths. The pain eased a little.

"It appears my minions were a little over enthusiastic in persuading you to accompany them." The man remarked.

"That would be an understatement." Castle replied recalling the beating he had received. "So what do I call you?"

"You can call me whatever you like, Mr Castle." The man said.

"Then I'll have to come up with a good one then."

"As a world famous author I would expect no less."

Castle noticed the man spoke with a polished English accent indicating that he had spent some time in England but he wasn't a native of that country. His dark features showed him to be of Hispanic decent.

"What am I doing here?" Castle asked.

"Let's just say I'm doing a favour for a friend." The man replied.

"Does this friend have a name?"

"They do."

"But you're not going to tell me?"

"There would be no fun in that, Mr Castle." The man said. "You are a noted writer of mysteries. I suggest you try and unravel it."

The man slowly moved away from the cot and made his way to the cell door. He paused and looked back.

"I would suggest that you have some of the food we have provided. Unlike what you are more accustomed to we do not have full on room service." He said.

Castle waved his hand in acknowledgement. His face constricted with pain. His hand fell across his chest.

"I could use a doctor." He said in a breathless gasp.

"I'm sure you could Mr Castle." Said the man sounding amused. "It's a pity we don't have one to attend to you."

That would be right, Castle thought to himself.

"I will leave you with this little morsel, Mr Castle." The man said. "You and my friend have crossed paths."

Castle turned his head to look at the man. He had a smile on his lips but the smile didn't travel up to his eyes. The man's eyes were dark and cold. Castle had seen those kinds of eyes before across the table in the interview rooms at the 12th Precinct. They were a killer's eyes. Castle felt a shiver of fear course through him.

"Until later, Mr Castle." The man said as he opened the door and stepped out of the cell. The door slammed shut and was locked.

Castle stared up at the ceiling of his cell. He closed his eyes. His head had started to hurt again, a distant drumming that was growing louder and louder. His thoughts went to what the man had said. He had crossed paths with the instigator of his kidnapping. Who could it be, he wondered. When had it happened? Where did it happen?

It had to be some case he had worked on he concluded. His thoughts turned to his partner. Suddenly his eyes snapped open. If they had kidnapped him because of some case he was involved in then she would be in danger too. That horrifying thought had him sitting bolt upright. He let out a loud gasp and fell back on the cot as his body was racked with pain. He struggled to breathe.

"Oh God." he gasped. "I have to get out of here."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Captain Montgomery walked into his office and moved to stand behind his desk Beckett followed him in. He motioned to her to close the door. He watched as Beckett closed the door and came to stand on the other side of his desk. He folded his arms across his chest and fixed her with his sternest look.

Beckett could see that the captain did not look happy but she waited for him to speak first.

"Well?" He demanded.

"What, sir?"

"Care to explain why you passed on a case Detective?"

Beckett thought about lying but looking at him she realised she respected the man too much. He was a good boss. He did not deserve to be lied to. Besides he would see right through the lie the moment it left her mouth. It was an unwritten rule in the 12th. You didn't pass on a case.

"Something has come up, sir." She said.

"Another case that I don't know about?"

"Something like that, sir." Beckett replied and shrugged her shoulders.

Captain Montgomery stared at her a moment before he unfolded his arms and sat down. He waved Beckett to sit down.

"Would you care to enlighten me Detective?"

Beckett looked down at her clasped hands as they rested in her lap. She bit on her lower lip.

"It's Castle, sir." She announced finally.

"Oh, what about Castle?"

Beckett took a breath and looked up at the captain. He was frowning even more than before.

"I think he has gone missing." Beckett said in a low voice

"What makes you think that?"

"Because I haven't heard from him since last night, sir."

Captain Montgomery raised a questioning eyebrow in Beckett's direction.

"When he goes away he likes to bombard me with texts or phone calls whether we're working on a case or not." Beckett explained, not believing she was actually telling the captain this information. "It's Castle being Castle, you know how he can be." She flashed a humourless smile.

The look on Captain Montgomery's face softened.

"I've sent him texts and tried calling him but only got his voicemail. I've left messages but he's not responded."

"Perhaps he might be busy." Captain Montgomery said. "He's on a book tour isn't he?"

Beckett nodded her head.

"I would imagine he's too busy to call back."

Beckett shook her head. "Sir, I think something has happened to him."

He saw the distraught look on Beckett's face. It was rare to see his best detective looking this worried.

"Maybe he dropped out of sight because he's doing some research?" Captain Montgomery suggested.

Beckett shook her head again. "No he would have mentioned it. It's just a book signing tour, sir."

The captain frowned.

"Sir, I'm not the only one who is worried about him." Beckett said. "Alexis came in. She hasn't heard from Castle either." She leaned forward in her chair and spoke again. "Can you imagine Castle, no matter how busy he is or where he might be or doing that wouldn't call his daughter?"

Captain Montgomery nodded his head in understanding. He had witnessed it himself a few times during their regular poker nights. They would be in the middle of a hand when Castle would fold and excuse himself, leave the table and call his daughter just to tell her good night. Captain Montgomery too began to be concerned.

"All right." He said finally. "What are you doing about it Detective?"

"I had Esposito take Alexis home and Ryan is calling the local hospitals and police departments."

Montgomery nodded his head.

"And I was going to call Castle's publisher and publicist."

"Get on it."

"Yes, sir."

Beckett jumped to her feet and headed for the door.

"And Beckett."

"Yes sir?"

"Keep me posted."

"Yes sir."

"Any problems let me know at once."

"Yes sir. Thank you sir."

Captain Montgomery watched Beckett leave his office. His face hardened a moment later. He reached for his desk phone and started dialling.

Emerging from the captain's office Beckett returned to her desk. She should have felt a little better that the captain was backing her on this but she didn't. That nameless feeling of dread that had woken her up this morning had only intensified. The first thing she did was check her phone for any messages. There were several new messages but none were from Castle. The messages were from Josh. She put the phone down not wanting to look at them right now.

"Ryan?" She called out. "Anything?"

Detective Ryan looked over to Beckett. He had a phone pressed to his ear.

"Nothing so far, Beckett but I've only just started calling." Ryan reported.

"When Esposito comes back get him on it as well."

"You got it."

Beckett's phone started vibrating. She scooped it up and was about to answer it when she saw who was calling.

"Not now, Josh." She whispered as she killed the call and set aside the phone.

Pulling open her top drawer she rummaged through it until she found her address book. She found the number she was looking for and reached for her desk phone. Her finger hovered over the buttons. The last time they had spoken had been at the launch of _Naked Heat. _It had been a meeting that was cordial at best. Castle had remarked later that they stared at each like a pair of lionesses ready to go after the other's throat. He then had to go and say that at his next book launch he was going to set up a ring full of jello and have Beckett and his ex-wife duke it out. That bright idea died a quick, painless death when she gave him one of her death glares.

It was not that Beckett hated the woman but she did hold her partly to blame for some of the heart ache she experienced that summer Castle had gone away to the Hamptons to finish his first Nikki Heat novel. And though she would never admit it to any living soul there was a little jealousy that lurked in the background.

Biting on her bottom lip Beckett dialled the number. The call was answered on the third ring.

"Gina Cowell." Came the answer.

"Gina, hi. It's Detective Kate Beckett."

There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment. "Detective Beckett what can I do for you?" Gina said coolly.

"I was wondering if you had heard from Castle?"

"As a matter of fact I haven't, Detective. He's on a book signing tour down in Texas."

"I know. I was just wondering if he had checked in with you?"

"I haven't spoken to Richard for a couple of days. Why do you ask?"

"Who organised the tour?" Beckett asked ignoring the other woman's question.

"The idea was mine." Gina replied. "But the actual nuts and bolts of the tour was handled by Paula."

"When did you come up with the idea for the tour?"

"About a month ago."

"I see." Beckett sighed. "Did he mention to you anything about doing some research when you spoke to him?"

"No. When he does book signing tours it's about selling more books." Gina said and paused. "Has something happened, Detective?"

Beckett heard the concern in the other woman's voice.

"It's probably nothing Gina." Beckett said quickly. "Alexis was a little concerned that she hadn't heard from her father and I told her that I'd ring around."

"Is Alexis all right?"

"She is fine, she's with her grandmother." Beckett told her. "Look if he does call you, could you let me know please?"

"I will Detective." Gina said.

Beckett was about to ring off but Gina hadn't finished.

"Detective Beckett if anything has happened you will let me know?"

"I will." Beckett promised.

Beckett put the phone down and then put her head in hands. For some moments she stared down at her desk. She knew that she had been hoping for too much that Castle had called his ex-wife before he called his daughter or her first. It was a silly thing to hope for.

Where could the man be, she thought to herself. She took a deep calming breath keeping at bay the fears that were threatening to rise and take hold of her. Being a Homicide detective she didn't need an over active imagination to know what could happen to some one. She had seen more than her fair share of what people could do to other people.

Exhaling slowly Beckett lifted up her head brushing the hair that had fallen across her face. A glance at her watch told her that it was over fourteen hours since they last heard from him.

Her cell phone vibrated into life again. Seeing the caller ID she let it go to her voice mail. She grabbed her empty coffee mug and got to her feet. She saw Ryan look in her direction. He had the phone to his ear. She shot him a questioning look. Ryan shook his head.

Frowning Beckett made her way to the break room. She was in no mood for a frothy cappuccino. It was always Castle who made cappuccinos and made them well, she recalled. At this moment in time she did not have the patience to try and make one. She made herself an extra strong espresso. Picking up the mug she took a sip from it. The hot liquid burned her lips and she almost dropped the mug in response. She was grateful for the pain of the hot coffee it stopped her thinking about all the sinister things that could possibly have befallen Castle.

Sitting down at her desk she looked over to Ryan. He was talking on the phone. Beckett noticed that Esposito hadn't returned from dropping Alexis off.

"Still nothing so far." Ryan announced as he put down his phone.

"Where the hell is Esposito?" She demanded.

"Maybe he's still over at Castle's place?"

Beckett pursed her lips and nodded her head. She picked up her desk phone and on checking her address book dialled the number. This call was answered after the second ring.

"Paula Haas." Castle's publicist announced.

"Hey Paula, it's Kate Beckett."

"Hey Nikki, how are you?"

Beckett rolled her eyes. Ever since the night of the launch of the first Nikki Heat book the publicist called her Nikki. At first Beckett found it irritating and would always correct her but over time she couldn't be bothered and just accepted it. Just like she accept members of the public calling her Nikki Heat.

"I'm good Paula." Beckett replied. "Listen, you haven't heard from Castle by any chance?"

"As a matter of fact, I haven't." Paula informed her. "God knows how many messages I've left him on his voice mail and texts I've sent and do you think he would call back? No! Seems I'm not important enough."

"When did you last speak to him?"

"It would have been sometime after seven last night." Paula said. "He'd just finished a book signing and he called to let me know that it had gone well."

"Did he say what he was going to do afterwards?"

"He said that he was going to the hotel to rest up a bit and then was going out to a restaurant."

"Did he say which one?"

"Nah. Hey what's with all the questions, Nikki?" Paula suddenly demanded.

Beckett let out a low sigh. She explained to the publicist how Castle hadn't called or responded to any messages.

"He's gone missing!" It was a statement not a question and was shouted.

"Paula, I need you to send me his full itinerary, the places he stayed or was going to stay and the people he was meeting." Beckett said after the other woman had calmed down a little.

"Sure, sure, I'll have it emailed to you right away."

"Paula who was looking after Castle down there?"

"I used a local guy, very good, very reliable. I've used him many times."

"I'm going to need his details."

"I'll send that over as well."

"Thanks Paula, I appreciate it." A thought occurred to Beckett. "Paula you keep Castle's fan mail don't you?"

"Yeah every single one."

"Even the ones from the nut jobs?"

"Especially those."

"I'm going to need to have a look at them. I'll send someone over to collect them."

"Tell them to bring a van."

"Do you keep a record of the postings on Castle's website?"

"You want them as well?" Paula exclaimed.

"Yeah."

"Ok, you got them."

"Again Paula, thanks."

"Kate..." Paula said with a tremor in her voice. "You don't think something has happened to Castle?"

That's exactly what I'm thinking, Beckett thought to herself. "I'm praying nothing has happened, Paula but..." Beckett couldn't finish the sentence.

"Ok, Kate." Paula said quietly. "If he should call I'll let you know."

"Thanks Paula."

Beckett rang off and pulled over a note pad and hurriedly scribbled Paula's name and her office address. She tore off the sheet and looked around the bullpen. She spotted a couple of uniform officers emerging from the break room.

"Wilkins, Jaworski over here." She loudly called out.

The two uniforms came over.

"I want you two to get a van from the motor pool and go to this address and see this person." She announced as she held out the sheet to Jaworski, the senior of the two officers. "There's some stuff I want you to pick up."

"I'm sorry Detective, no can do." Jaworski replied looking apologetic.

"What do you mean, no can do?" Beckett demanded angrily.

"We're due in court in an hour." Explained Wilkins.

"Damn it!" Beckett shouted and slammed her fist on her desk.

"Sorry Detective."

Beckett glared furiously at the two departing uniformed officers. She turned her glare on Ryan.

"Where the hell is Esposito!" She yelled.

"Is there a problem, Detective?" Captain Montgomery asked as he walked up to her desk.

"Hell yes." Beckett snapped as she rounded on the captain.

Suddenly remembering herself she stared wide eyed at the captain, shocked. She opened her mouth ready to apologise but he held out his hand.

"I'll take care of that, Detective." He said in an even tone of voice.

Beckett handed over Paula's address.

"Esposito is still at Castle's apartment on my orders."

Beckett raised her eyebrows at the captain.

"I will explain later. First I want you to take a ten minute break."

Beckett shook her head. "No sir, I'm fine."

"That wasn't a suggestion, Detective Beckett." Captain Montgomery said firmly as he stared at her.

Beckett felt the anger rising within her. She stared back at the captain wanting to argue with him. The look on his face warned her that he was up for an argument and they both knew who would end up winning it.

"Go and get some fresh air and clear your head, Kate." He said in a low voice.

Suddenly Beckett turned on her heels and marched out of the bullpen. She had taken only a couple of steps before the whirlpool of emotions that had been churning inside her; anger.., concern.., fear... dread to rose up and overwhelmed her. She was not able to hold back the tears. Instead of going to the lift she headed for the women's toilets. She practically ran to it.


	7. Chapter 7

**My apologies to those who have been eagerly waiting for the next installment of this story. This chapter took me a while to write as I came up against a road block called "writers block". I managed to get over it and the words just kept coming. It is a little longer than I expected.**

**So here it is. I hope you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: as per usual I don't own the characters etc etc**

Chapter 7

Castle looked down at the plate of rice and beans sitting in his lap. He had taken a few mouthfuls of the food and could barely keep it down. There was way too much salt in the food. He wanted to set aside the plate but he forced himself to eat some more. He scooped up some beans and rice with his fingers and shoved it into his mouth and chewed. He pulled a face at the taste. He winced at the pain of his sore jaw but he continued to chew. Couldn't they have given him a couple of borritos or some tortillas?

He set aside the food. He knew he had to eat to keep up his strength. Maybe he would try eating some more of the food a little later, maybe.

He looked in the direction of the cell door. His eyes spotted a tin mug that had been pushed through the trapdoor. He was certainly feeling thirsty from the food. Slowly and carefully he pushed himself off the cot. Once on his feet he paused. His was body was stiff and sore. He had his left arm around his chest to ease the pain of his ribs. The pain was bad but not too bad. He still had to remind himself not to take deep breaths.

He waited for the dizzy spell to come and was relieved that it did not arrive. He smiled at the small victory. His head still ached but the pain had receded a little. He took a step forward. It was more a shuffle than a step. The fear of falling down again made him cautious. The last thing he wanted was to fall down and do further damage to his ribs.

Slowly he shuffled across the cell growing a little more confident with each step. His stiff muscles protested at his movement but he ignored their complaints. It surprised him how easily he could ignore the pain. When he had been laying on the cot thinking about the pain it made the pain feel even worse. Now that he had something else to occupy his mind the pain in his body was put to the background.

He came to a stop. Staring down at the water filled cup he started to bend down to pick it up. His ribs reminded him that would not be a good idea. He straightened up clutching his ribs and letting the wave of pain ebb away.

"Well Plan A didn't work." He said. "Now to plan B."

Remaining straight Castle slowly sank to his knees. A smile came to his face. So far so good, he thought to himself. Reaching down he picked up the cup. He brought the cup to his mouth and suddenly stopped. What if they had laced it with something? He dismissed the thought. If they had not laced his food with something, except for too much salt why would they put something in his water? In his current condition he did not pose any danger to his captors.

He brought the cup to his lips and took a tentative sip. The water tasted a little metallic. He took another sip regardless. He finished the rest of the cup in one big gulp. The parchness of his throat was soothed by the water. Looking at the now empty cup he frowned. If he was only going to be fed one meal a day the same could be said with water. He should have saved some of the water for later he told himself. He shrugged away the thought. He could worry about that later.

Setting the cup down on the floor Castle tried to get up. For a moment nothing happened. His body refused to obey the command his brain had sent. He tried again and again nothing. It seemed he did not have the strength to lift himself up. He eased back a little and tried to push himself off his knees. His knees barely rose an inch before a jab of pain coursed through his chest at his exertion.

"This is not good." Castle muttered to himself.

He tried to lift himself by pushing off on his right leg but again he stopped at the jab of pain he felt.

He looked back in the direction of the cot. It was not too far to walk the distance on his knees, he judged. Turning his head he faced the door. It was only about a foot or two away. An idea came to him. He shuffled up to the door.

Castle studied the door for a few moments. His chest hurt and he wanted to catch his breath before he tried getting up so he stared at the door. The door was made of planks which did not look too thick. The wood was old and in parts was starting to warp and splinter. Insects had attacked parts of it leaving small holes of various shapes and sizes. Someone with bulk behind them could break it down with a few hefty shoves. The lock was about the size and shape he had seen in countless movies. The hinges were rusted and didn't look too secure.

"Where's MacGyver when you need him?" He said in a low voice and laughed.

If the famous television spy had been in here he would have quickly gotten himself out by picking the lock with a spoon or fork or some implement on his trusty Swiss Army knife. Failing that he could have concocted some explosive device using the rice and beans to blow the hinges off.

"That will teach me not to pay more attention when MacGyver's on TV." He chuckled.

With his breathing steady Castle reached up with his right hand and found the small ledge on the peep hatch. His left arm let go of his ribs and also found purchase on the ledge. Summoning what little strength he had he hauled himself off his knees. He gritted his teeth at the sharp pain in his chest but he did not stop, pulling himself to his feet. He leaned against the door trying to catch his breath and to let the pain in his ribs ease up a little.

Pressing his ear against the door he listened out. It was silent on the other side of the door. There was either no guard stationed or there was a guard but he was asleep. He figured there was no guard. His captors did not think he was too much of a threat of escaping. Well they were in for a surprise he thought to himself with a smile. Well they would be if he could come up with a way to escape. The smile on his face faded at that thought. He did not have a plan of escape. At least not yet.

It took Castle a couple of minutes to shuffle across the cell back to his cot. He stopped several times when he felt a little dizzy, waiting for it to pass before resuming his shuffle or waiting for the pain in his ribs to subside. Carefully he eased himself down on the cot and sat up on it. He rested his back against the wall and stared at the door. The effort to cross the cell had been exhausting and he was trying not to take deep breaths.

His head was throbbing again and he did not want to think about the pain in his ribs.

His thoughts turned to what the man had told him. A cold shudder of dread passed through him and he hugged himself tighter. It was some case he and Beckett had worked on. Which one though? In three years they had worked countless cases. In his head a parade of names and faces marched across but nothing or no one seemed to stop.

If only Beckett was here... No he didn't want her here. He killed that thought quickly. He didn't want her trapped in this place no way. He still hadn't forgotten the last time they had been trapped. That nightmare had not completely left him.

Thinking of Kate Beckett brought a smile to his face. He wondered what she was doing right now? Would she be at the precinct working on some new case? Or was she fast asleep and dreaming of him, just like he dreamed of her most nights? Would she be worried when she did not hear from him? He hated to think of her worrying about him.

His eyelids felt heavy and he couldn't keep them open. Despite his best efforts they refused to stay open...

…_Don Ricardo Castillo opened his eyes. Sitting up he wondered where he was. The light in the room had faded heralding the approach of evening. As his sleep fogged mind cleared he realised where he was. He was in his study seated at his desk. Arrayed before him on the walls were floor to ceiling shelves crammed with many leather bound books. It dawned on him that some time during the afternoon he had fallen asleep._

_Looking down at his desk he saw that the sheet of paper had been drooled on ruining it. He picked it up, screwed it into a ball and tossed it over his shoulder letting it land on the floor amongst the other paper balls._

_From a tray he selected a fresh blank sheet of paper and set it in the middle of the desk. He picked up the writing quill from its stand and dipped it into the pot of ink. He stared at the the writing paper willing his thoughts to come forth. For some moments the quill was poised above the paper waiting for its wielder to put it into motion. Yet nothing happened. The quill did not move, his thoughts were frozen. In frustration he threw the quill down and leaned back in his chair._

_How could this be? Was he not a gifted writer? Did they not call him the new Cervantes? Someone who could summon forth words and weave them into tales that captivated children and entranced their parents? Why would the words not come for him this time? From sunrise this morning he had been at his desk but try as he might nothing came to him. All he had to show for his efforts was the growing pile of discarded pages that he had tossed away. _

_He had promised her a story. He hated the thought of failing her._

_The ink splotched sheet of paper was screwed up into a ball and was sent sailing over his shoulder. He picked up the quill and selected another sheet of paper. Once more he dipped the nib of the quill into the ink pot._

"_This time the words will come." he said firmly. _

_The door to the study opened. With a growl of frustration Don Ricardo turned to face the intruder._

"_Not now Javier." Don Ricardo said. "Can't you see I'm busy?"_

_Javier, Don Ricardo's servant stood in the doorway. He was holding a tray of food and a goblet of wine. The servant looked from his boss to the large pile of paper balls. He turned back to Don Ricardo and gave him a pointed look._

"_Are you going for some record, Don Ricardo?"_

_Don Ricardo turned to look behind him. His eyes widened at the sight of so many discarded sheets of paper._

"_It would appear that I am, Javier." Don Ricardo sighed._

"_I have brought you some food and a little wine." Javier announced as he brought the tray to the desk. "You have not eaten anything all day. Perhaps a little sustenance may encourage the words to come?" _

_Don Ricardo was on the point of waving away the tray but thought better about it. At this moment in time he was willing to try anything to cajole the words from his head. From the tray he picked up the goblet and brought it to his lips and took a sip. He nodded his approval of Javier's wine selection. _

"_Shall I get your clothes ready, Don Ricardo?" Javier enquired._

"_What?"_

"_Your clothes for tonight?"_

"_What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"_

_Don Ricardo was dressed in a white shirt and trousers held up with suspenders. Over that he wore a long brown coat. From time to time when he was writing he would wear costumes as they sometimes gave him inspiration for his writing._

_Javier fixed his boss with a severe looking frown and then added a shake of his head to emphasise what he thought about that idea. It was one thing to be eccentric in the confines of your own home but it was an entirely different matter when you ventured out in the public._

"_The social event of the year and you want to go dressed like a Gringo cowboy?" Javier said shaking his head again. "I do not think so, brother."_

_Don Ricardo took a big sip of the wine and set the goblet back on the tray. At the mention of the party his face fell. He had forgotten about the soiree. In his agony to put words on paper and failing it had completely slipped his mind._

"_I don't think I'll go, Javier." he announced. "I have not even started that story for her."_

"_You have to go, boss."_

_Don Ricardo shook his head sadly trying not to let the pain he felt show on his face._

"_You have to go boss." Javier repeated this time in a stern voice._

_Don Ricardo looked up at Javier._

"_This could be the last chance to convince her of the error of her choice." Javier added. "You would not forgive yourself if you did not take this opportunity."_

_Don Ricardo looked pensive as he mulled over Javier's words. Eventually he nodded his head in agreement. He rose to his feet and turned to look at Javier._

"_You are right my friend." Don Ricardo said as clapped his hand on the other man's shoulder. "I will go."_

_Javier smiled at his boss and nodded his head._

"_But I will not go as Don Ricardo." He added, his smile broadening._

"_You don't mean...?" Said Javier his eyebrows rising._

"_I do indeed, my friend. I do indeed."_

_Don Ricardo left the astonished Javier and headed out of the study._

"_Have my horse saddled at once." Don Ricardo called out._

_Don Ricardo strode purposefully out the front door of his hacienda. He was dressed all in black with a flowing cape and a flat brimmed hat. The knee length riding boots gleamed from a recent polishing and the spurs clinked rhythmically with each step he took. At his side hung a sheathed rapier sword. Covering his face was a bandanna with holes cut out._

_Waiting for Don Ricardo in the courtyard was his black stead Toronado. Holding the reins of the horse was another servant of the hacienda, a Gringo whose name was Kevin, a recent addition to the household staff. A look of astonishment appeared on Kevin's face when he saw Don Ricardo emerge from the hacienda. Standing beside the now astonished Kevin was a smug looking Javier._

"_El Zorro?" Kevin said, stunned._

"_Yup." Said Javier._

"_He's El Zorro?"_

"_That's twenty pesos you owe me, Bro." Said Javier._

_Don Ricardo took the offered reins from Kevin and climbed up into the saddle with practised ease._

"_Don't wait up for me gentlemen." He said with a grin as he wheeled the horse around._

_Digging his spurs into Toronado's flanks the horse leaped forward and set off at a fast gallop._

_The two men watched the departing figure of Zorro disappear into the night._

"_Twenty pesos says he gets caught tonight." Kevin offered._

"_You're on Bro." Javier replied._

"_I guess we'll have to follow him to see what happens."_

"_Yeah."_

_Both men ran towards the stables for their own horses._

_Don Ricardo did not have any difficulty in getting over the side wall of the hacienda. He had simply stood up on the saddle and launched himself at the wall. Toronado stood still until his master had left the saddle and then trotted away to a patch of grass that he had spotted._

_Pausing at the top Don Ricardo looked around to make sure there was no one about. The front of the hacienda was bathed in the glow of the lit torches and lamps. The noise of the arriving guests and the music from the orchestra wafted over to him. There was no sign of any guard patrolling the walls of the hacienda. He figured most if not all of the guards would be on show at the front impressing the guests._

_He pushed off the wall and landed on the ground hardly making a sound. He crouched low and again scanned his surrounds. Rising up he scurried the short distance to the large tree that grew at the side of the hacienda. He leaned against the trunk and again looked about. The coast was clear he found much to his relief. Turning around he started up the tree._

_Don Ricardo did not take long to climb the tree. He had been up and down this tree countless times before that he could have done it with his eyes closed. Reaching the branch that hung close to the second storey balcony he sidled across the branch and dropped silently on the balcony. He crouched in the shadows for some moments. Slowly he stood up._

_On the other side of the balcony a couple of lamps had been stationed to provide light. Leaning against the balustrade watching the scene down in the front gardens of the hacienda was the woman he had come to see. He smiled at the sight of her. She was dressed in a long red dress that was narrow at the waist and flowed outward down to the hem. The sleeves were puffed up and frilly. A ruby necklace decorated her neck. The ensemble was finished with a white lace veil covering her long brown hair. She was watching the party below. He had to admit he always liked the sight of her in red._

_He removed his mask and pocketed it. There was no point in being disguised as she knew who his alter ego was._

"_Katerina, the light of your beauty far outshines even the moon tonight." Don Ricardo said, smiling._

_Katerina turned at the sound of his voice. The pensive look on her face vanished and was replaced with a brief hint of a smile. Slowly she moved away from the balustrade and walked towards him._

"_Ricardo." She said. "Always the poet."_

_Ricardo smiled at her and shrugged his shoulders. "I can't help but be inspired by the beauty I behold."_

_Another brief smile directed at him. "You came."_

"_Did you think I wouldn't?"_

_He watched as she came to a stop a couple of feet away from him. He wanted to close the distance between them, wanted to take her in his arms and hold her tight yet he did not move. It seemed his feet were anchored to the ground. He saw her bite her lower lip, a sign of nervousness he knew so well._

"_I thought this would be too painful for you to bear." Katerina said glancing in the direction of the party before turning to look at him._

"_And yet I still I came."_

"_Yes you did." She said, nodding her head. "Did you bring me the story you promised?"_

_A pained expression rose on his face and he held out his hands away from his body to show that he had come empty handed. _

"_Since I lost my muse I find that I can not write."_

_Katerina rolled her eyes and shook her head. He knew that she did not like being called his muse. She hated being called a muse. Yet that is what she was. She inspired him by her mere presence._

"_You were able to write before you met me, Ricardo and I know you will continue to write after I'm gone. You have more stories to tell."_

_He was not so sure. Yet he was not about to tell her that._

"_So have made your decision, Katerina?" Ricardo asked, breaking the silence that had descended between them._

_Katerina looked at him silently and finding it hard to hold his intense gaze she lowered her eyes and turned away from him unable to give him an answer._

"_Would it surprise you to learn that I haven't?" Katerina said after some moments of silence._

_Ricardo felt his heart skip a beat on hearing her words. The flame of hope that burned within him and which had been slowly being extinguished suddenly began to burn a little brighter._

"_Your honesty is welcome, Katerina."_

"_Thank you Ricardo."_

"_Always."_

_Katerina looked over her shoulder to him and saw the smile on his face. How could one little word hold such power and so much meaning, she wondered._

"_Katerina there you are." Said the tall dark haired man as he stepped onto the balcony. "The guests are starting to ask for you."_

"_Joshua." Katerina exclaimed in alarm as she turned to face him._

_The tall handsome man approaching Katerina stopped when he spotted Ricardo standing in the shadows. Quickly he reached for and drew his pistol from its holster._

"_Dr Davidson a pistol, really?" Ricardo said with a note of disdain._

"_You will kindly remove your sword Don Ricardo." Joshua said firmly. "Lay it on the ground if you please."_

"_A pistol is so uncivilized." Ricardo said as he started to undo the sword belt._

"_But a very effective weapon, don't you think, Zorro?" A smug grin appeared on the Doctor's face as he waved the weapon at the shocked Ricardo._

_Ricardo was surprised that the doctor knew his alias. He looked over to Katerina half suspecting that she may have betrayed him. He need not have worried. The look of shock on her face was all he needed to know that she had done no such thing. He chided himself for ever thinking that of her._

"_Joshua let him leave." Katerina pleaded._

"_I have apprehended a wanted criminal, my dear Katerina."_

_Ricardo for a moment thought about diving over the balcony but quickly dismissed the idea. There was a slim chance he could drop down without being collected by one of the branches. The thought of broken ribs or something worse did not fill him with much excitement. He would take his chances here on the balcony. He removed the sword and carefully placed it on the ground all the while his eyes never leaving Dr Davidson. He held up his hands._

"_Now kick it away."_

_Ricardo did as he was told. The rapier slid across the ground._

"_This is the best engagement present a man could have asked for. The capture of the criminal Zorro." The doctor chortled triumphantly._

_Ricardo turned from the doctor to look at Katerina standing by herself. He saw her eyes shinning with tears ready to be shed. He smiled gently at her._

"_Well Katerina the moment has come for you to decide." He said._

**Your reviews are truly welcome.**


	8. Chapter 8

**As always thank you for all your kind reviews. Your words inspire me.**

**Disclaimer: As per usual I don't own them etc etc...**

Chapter 8

"_Most people come up against a wall, they give up...not you. You don't let go. You don't back down. That's what makes you extraordinary."_

His whispered words echoed in Beckett's head as she stared at the white porcelain of the wash basin. Slowly she lifted her head and pushed the hair away from her face. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. The frown on her face deepened. He wouldn't think that if he saw her right now. She wasn't feeling extraordinary. She was feeling anything but. Her eyes were red rimmed from crying, her makeup was streaked from the tears shed. Turning on the tap she splashed water on her face.

Drying her face she looked once more at her reflection. A little better she thought. She started to reach for her bag before suddenly stopping. In her rush to get out of the bullpen she had left her bag at her desk. For a moment she thought about going back to retrieve it but she was not ready to make an appearance in the bullpen. She shrugged her shoulders and let it go. She did not wear a lot of makeup normally anyway. Still she was a little concerned about the red rimmed eyes.

"_Do you know why I chose you as my inspiration for Nikki Heat...? Because you're tall."_

That brought a smile to her lips. Just like that other time. An injection of humour to lighten up a serious situation.

"_Now go in there and do your job..."_

The smile faded from her face. She shook her head trying to clear her thoughts. Castle had the habit of seeming to know exactly what to say. Whether they were out in the field examining a new murder scene or back here in the precinct doing paperwork he could come up with some lame joke or remark that despite herself would bring a smile to her lips. How could one man know so much about her? At first she had found it spooky. These days she welcomed it. Looked forward to it.

If he was in trouble then he would be counting on her. He would be counting on her to do her job. Instead of doing her job what had she done? She had a meltdown that's what. And in the bullpen no less!

She tried not to think about all the times he had her back. All those times when he put his life on the line, not caring about himself, just to protect her. She owed him. She owed him big time.

"_Now go in there and do your job..." _The voice in her head repeated.

Beckett took a deep calming breath and slowly exhaled. The frown slowly disappeared from her face and a look of determination settled. Castle was counting on her. She was not about to let him down, not today, not ever.

She checked herself in the mirror one more time before turning away and strode purposefully out of the ladies room. Returning to the bullpen she found Captain Montgomery standing at Ryan's desk. Esposito was standing beside the senior officer. Captain Montgomery gave her a concerned look as she walked past to her desk. She checked her emails and saw that Paula had sent the information. She opened the email.

"Beckett?" Captain Montgomery said with some concern in his voice. He moved over from Ryan's desk to hers.

Beckett looked up from her computer screen.

"I'm ready to get back in the game again, sir." She told him.

Captain Montgomery regarded her for a moment and then nodded his head.

"I ordered Esposito to stay at Castle's loft until a protection detail arrived." Captain Montgomery informed her. She raised a questioning eyebrow at the captain.

"If he's been kidnapped his family could be in danger." he explained.

Beckett nodded her head in understanding and chided herself for not having thought of that earlier. She wasn't ready to call it a kidnapping but her gut instinct was pointing her in that direction.

"Has there been any word from the kidnappers?" She asked.

"Nothing yet."

Beckett looked down at her computer screen to the email from Paula. She forwarded it to both Ryan and Esposito.

"Esposito, see if you can track down a man called Pedro Rodriguez. He was handling Castle's book tour down there." Beckett ordered.

"You got it boss." Esposito called out.

Beckett sat down in her chair and scrolled through the information that Paula had sent over.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Captain Montgomery said in a low voice.

Beckett looked up at the Captain and saw the look of concern on his face.

"I'm fine sir." She said. A brief smile flickered across her face. "It wont happen again."

"What wont happen again, Detective?"

"My little..." Beckett felt embarrassed having to mention her emotional outburst. She waved her hand absently as way of explanation.

"I've been here all the time, Detective and I don't know what you're talking about." Captain Montgomery said, his face softening a little. He cast a glance around the bullpen before turning his gaze back to Beckett. "And I'm sure everyone else around here wouldn't know what you're talking about either."

"Yes, sir."

"Carry on, Detective." Captain Montgomery said as he moved off. "And keep me posted."

"Yes Captain."

Beckett watched as the captain disappeared into his office. She was a little surprised at him and grateful. She was embarrassed by her emotional outburst but the captain and everyone else had chosen to ignore it. A smile came to her lips as she shook her head. After a moment or two Beckett turned her attention to her desk.

Glancing down she saw her phone. She picked it up checking for messages. Again she found there were none from Castle. No texts either. She hit Castle's number silently hoping that his cheerful voice would answer her call. After three rings she got his voice mail. Her heart sank. She thought about ringing off but decided to leave him another message. She hoped that her voice did not sound too worried.

Beckett got up from her desk grabbing her empty coffee mug. She started for the break room for another shot of coffee. She glanced in the direction of the briefing room and saw the fan mail that been brought over from Castle's publicist's office. A mountain range of mail had been piled on the table. She remembered the last time Castle's fan mail had been gone through. It seemed almost a life time ago.

What surprised her the most was not the amount fan mail but the number of people seated around the table going through Castle's fan mail. There were six uniformed officers and two detectives sorting or reading through the mail.

She continued on her way to the break room where she found Ryan getting himself a refill from the espresso machine.

"Ryan, where did this manpower come from?" Beckett asked and nodded in the direction of the briefing room. "Did the captain organise it?"

"Nah. Word got around that Castle might be in trouble and they volunteered to help out." Detective Ryan replied. He moved away from the coffee machine. He saw the look on Beckett's face. He shrugged his shoulders and gave her a smile. "Hey, he's family, right?"

Beckett nodded her head not trusting her voice.

"I've had half the precinct offering to help out all ready." Ryan added.

Beckett moved up to the machine to get coffee, grateful that she had her back to Ryan so he couldn't see the tears welling in her eyes. It took her a moment or two to compose herself.

Beckett and Ryan came out of the break room. Ryan was filling her in on his ring around but the upshot was that he had come up with nothing. No one answering Castle's description had shown up at the local hospitals or police lock ups.

From out of the corner of her eye Beckett saw some one sitting in Castle's seat. For a single heart beat she thought that Castle had made a miraculous appearance. Looking properly in the direction of her desk she saw that it wasn't Castle at all but the familiar features of Josh. Her heart sank. The smile that had threatened to rise to greet the wayward writer never got out of the starting blocks. Where did he come from, she thought to herself.

On seeing Beckett approach Josh rose to his feet wearing a thin smile.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded as she sat down in her chair setting her coffee mug aside.

"And hello to you too." The smile faded from his face.

"What are you doing here, Josh?"

"Did you forget we had a lunch date?" Josh replied.

Beckett frowned as she searched her memory.

"Well, you would have remembered if you had bothered to answer my calls or messages." He added when she didn't respond.

Beckett caught the resentful tone in his voice. She didn't need this right now.

"I've been busy, Josh." Beckett said a little defensively.

"Busy? You don't have a case." Josh waved a hand in the direction of her blank murder board. "I would have thought they could have spared you from paperwork for an hour or so."

"Something's come up."

Josh dropped into Castle's chair. He didn't see the brief glare she flashed in his direction at seeing him in that chair. She considered it Castle's chair and any one else wanting to sit there usually sought her permission.

"And you couldn't spare a moment to send me a message, or answer your phone?"

Beckett was about to shake her head but stopped herself. The last thing she needed right now was having to deal with an angry boyfriend. And why was he so upset over a missed lunch date? How many times had the plans she made been ruined because he had been called in to work because of some medical emergency? Did she complain to him about that? Did she complain when half way through a meal at a restaurant he got a call and he was off? No. She understood that he was a busy doctor. Why couldn't he understand that she was a busy cop?

"I said I've been busy, Josh." Beckett said tersely.

"Well you could have told me." He shot back. "A simple call or message wouldn't have killed you."

She glared at him. "I'll remember next time, Josh."

Josh nodded his head but the look on his face told her that he didn't believe her. He looked around the bullpen.

"So, where's your shadow?" he asked.

"I don't know." Beckett said truthfully.

"I would have thought he would be around here somewhere."

"He's not here."

Beckett did not want to tell him that Castle had gone missing and may have been kidnapped. For the life of her she could not explain why she did not want to tell him.

"So where is he?"

"I said, I don't know." Beckett said sharply.

"OK, no need to bite my head off." Josh snapped back.

Beckett paused to take a deep breath, reining in her anger. She closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. Opening her eyes she looked at him. Lately they had been having far too many arguments. The usual source of the arguments had been the famous writer.

"Look Josh, I'm kind of busy right now."

"You said that all ready."

"We'll talk about this later ok?"

Josh regarded her for a moment. He nodded his head.

"I think we had better."

He rose to his feet and moved to kiss her but Beckett moved out of range. She didn't see Josh's face cloud over as he straightened up. Without further word Josh left the bullpen.

Beckett didn't watch him leave. She had her head in her hands staring down at her desk trying to keep at bay the churning emotions inside her. She was not looking forward to that talk with Josh but she knew it was past due.

"Yo Beckett." Esposito called out.

Beckett forced thoughts of Josh from her head as she looked up. Esposito and Ryan were approaching her desk.

"You all right?" Esposito enquired, noticing the look on her face.

"I'm fine." Beckett replied.

"Sure about that?" Ryan asked.

Beckett had no doubt both men had witnessed her exchange with Josh and knowing them she knew they would have been eavesdropping. She was touched by their concern though.

"I'm fine." Beckett said firmly. "What you got?"

Esposito regarded her for a moment. He knew her well enough to know that pressing her would get them nowhere.

"We got a hit on Pedro Rodriguez." He announced.

"A Pedro Rodriguez was admitted to the ER at University Medical Centre around ten pm local time." Ryan said.

"And he's our boy?" Beckett asked.

Both Esposito and Ryan nodded their heads.

"He was beaten up pretty bad, massive head injuries." Said Esposito. "Doesn't look good."

"I've been onto the El Paso PD again." Ryan said. "They said Rodriguez had been jumped by a gang as he came out of a restaurant last night." Ryan said.

Beckett looked from Ryan to Esposito.

"Was Castle with him?" She asked carefully, stealing herself for the answer.

"We don't know." Esposito informed her.

"The cops down there are still talking to the staff and customers." Ryan added.

"They promised to have a report sent to us within the hour." Esposito said.

"Let's give them a little bit of help." Beckett said. "Send them a picture of Castle."

"All ready taken care of Beckett." Esposito announced.

Beckett gave him a grateful nod of her head. She got to her feet and ran her hand through her hair.

"Keep on the El Paso PD." she ordered. "I'll let the captain know."

Ryan and Esposito nodded their heads. Ryan moved off returning to his desk. Esposito remained where he was.

"Beckett." He said.

"What?"

He fixed her with one of his stern looks. "We're going to find him, OK?"

Becket gave him a thin lipped smile and nodded her head.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

_He paused at the bottom of the steps of the impressive looking temple. Taking off his wide brimmed felt hat he ran the back of his hand across his brow wiping away some sweat. It was hot in this jungle. It was hot and humid. It was too hot to be wearing his brown leather jacket in these conditions but it was too late now to take it off. For several hours they had been marching through the thick jungle to reach this destination. Returning the hat back on his head turned to look back at the party he had been leading._

_His eyes first went to the slender dark haired woman who stood watching him with her arms folded across her chest. He gave her a big grin as he wiggled his eyebrows. Her response was to roll her eyes and shake her head._

"_Are you expecting us to give you a round of applause for getting us here?" She said._

"_You could at least look suitably impressed, Kate." Rick replied, still smiling at her._

"_Then consider us suitably impressed Castle."_

_When she used his last name he knew he was in her bad books. He knew why he was in her bad books. He had said the temple was only a couple of hours from their camp. Those couple of hours had turned into several._

"_Hey I didn't get us lost." Castle protested._

"_This time." Kate said, finishing the sentence._

_Castle looked to the two men standing behind Kate. They were dressed in sweat soaked green military style shirts._

"_That's twenty pesos you owe me, dude." Said the fair haired man, as he held out his hand._

_The other man dug into his shirt pocket and fished out the folded currency, which he placed in the other man's waiting hand. "There you go bro."_

_Castle witnessed the exchange and a pained look flickered across his face._

"_You bet that I would get us lost, Javier?" He said._

_Javier Esposito looked at Castle and offered him an apologetic shrug of his shoulders._

"_Hey man we had to make this journey a little interesting." Said Kevin Ryan as he counted the banknotes that Esposito had paid him. Satisfied that he had the right money he folded the bills and put them in his shirt pocket._

"_I'm really hurt, Ryan." Castle said._

"_Guys why don't we wait until we get back to camp with this?" Kate interjected. Her eyes scanned the surrounding jungle. She was starting to get a bad feeling being here. "I don't want to be here any longer than we really have to, OK?"_

_All three men nodded their heads in agreement._

"_You can all express your feelings sitting around the campfire while you braid each other's hair." Kate added._

_Castle looked at her and pulled a face. Kate couldn't keep the smile rising to her face._

"_That's so childish Castle."_

"_Sticks and stone, Kate. Sticks and stones."_

_She graced him with a roll of her emerald eyes._

_Castle turned to face the temple and began to climb up the steps. Near the top step he stopped and held up his hand stopping the others in their tracks._

"_What now?" Kate demanded._

"_Maybe he's lost?" Esposito suggested._

"_He hasn't gone anywhere yet to get lost." Ryan retorted._

_Castle slowly turned around to look at his companions. He glared at Esposito and Ryan. He had heard their exchange but chose not comment on it._

"_I think it would be better, not to mention a lot quicker if I went in there alone to get the golden idol." Castle announced._

"_What happens if you get lost in there somewhere?" Esposito said._

"_I wont get lost."_

"_Well, what if you did?"_

"_I wont get lost." Castle said firmly. _

"_But what if you did?"_

"_I have memorised the plan of the temple interior." Castle said carefully holding down the anger that threatened to surface._

_Castle's companions looked at him dubiously._

"_The temple is booby trapped." Castle explained. _

"_Well, dude, if the temple is booby trapped maybe it's a good idea we wait for you out here." Ryan said. Esposito nodded his head rapidly._

"_I thought you might see it that way." Castle said._

"_Castle." Kate said. "Be careful."_

_Castle turned to look at her having noted the concern in her voice._

"_I'll be fine, Kate." He assured her. "I mean what could go wrong?"_

_He turned and put his foot on the top step. His boot slipped suddenly making him stumble and almost fall down. He heard his companions gasp. Castle straightened up once at the top and looked at his companions._

_He grinned back at them._

"_Just kidding guys." He laughed._

_His companions were not amused. Kate glared at him. The smile faded from his face as he turned serious._

"_If I'm not back in thirty minutes, leave this place and head back to camp." He ordered._

_Kate opened her mouth to say something._

"_I mean it."_

_Kate held Castle's gaze, she bit her lower lip nervously. Slowly she nodded her head._

_The smile returned to Castle's face. He gave her a wave, turned and ran across the small courtyard towards the entrance to the temple. Only when he had vanished inside the temple did Kate turn to look at Ryan and Esposito._

"_I have thirty pesos that says he'll get lost in there." Esposito announced._

"_I'll take that action, dude."_

"_Twenty pesos says he comes back." Kate declared._

"_You're on Beckett." Esposito said with a grin._

_Castle felt his confidence growing as he moved deeper into the temple. He had negotiated the first couple of booby traps. The first had been a set of giant spikes set on either side of the archway he had encountered. He had thrown a stick directly in the middle through the archway which triggered the spikes which came together with a mighty crash. If he had walked through the archway he would have had so many holes in him he could have easily passed as a block of Swiss cheese._

_The second had been a wide and deep cavernous pit. It had been concealed by dust covered cobwebs. He solved the problem of crossing the yawning pit by taking out his bullwhip and swinging himself across the pit. _

_Continuing along the corridor he reached the entrance to the sanctuary. Looking across the wide room his eyes fell upon the large stone altar. Sitting atop the alter was a small golden idol which was bathed by a shaft of sunlight coming through a hole somewhere in the ceiling of the roof. A smile came to Castle's face as he gazed at the idol. This is what he came for._

_The paper he would write on discovering the golden idol of the Temple of The Chahcapoyan Warriors would make his star shine very brightly in the archaeological world, it would be brighter than any comet. He might even get that professorship he had been hoping for._

_There was also a book he would write about this expedition, an action adventure novel based on this expedition. He had all ready thought up a title for this book. He would call it the Temple Of Doom. He liked the sound of that. It had a nice ring to it, even if he thought so himself. _

_Castle managed to drag his eyes from the golden idol and thoughts of the book he would write. His eyes fell to the floor. Under the covering of dust he saw the floor of the room was covered in white and black tiles. _

_Grabbing an unlit torch from the wall beside him Castle knelt down and tapped the end of the torch on a white tile. It felt solid. He nodded his head. He then tapped the nearest black tile. He heard a high pitched whizzing sound. Looking at the torch he saw a tiny dart sticky out of the torch._

_He got to his feet and looked around the room studying it carefully. He spotted the holes in the recesses in the walls._

"_Why don't they ever make it easy?" Castle muttered to himself._

_Castle tossed the torch aside and prepared to enter the room. Carefully he stepped on a white tile. Slowly he made his way across the floor hopping from one white tile to the next, silently grateful for the hopscotch skills he had picked up as a young boy._

_Reaching the altar Castle paused to catch his breath and study the idol carefully. The golden object was both fearsome and beautiful at the same time. It sat on a polished stone pedestal. He could have stood there admiring the artefact for hours but he did not have hours. From inside of his jacket he produced a draw string canvas bag. Opening the bag he scooped dirt from around the pedestal until he had enough that it approximated the weight of the idol. Pulling the strings closed he bounced the bag a couple of time in his left hand._

_Castle moved closer to the altar and then paused. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly calming his rapidly beating heart. The next instant he scooped the idol with his right hand and placed the dirt filled bag on the pedestal with his left._

_A triumphant smile stole across Castle's face as he gazed at the golden idol now in his possession. The pedestal with the bag of dirt on it sank slowly into the altar. The smile froze on his face when he heard deep rumbling coming from within the temple. With each passing moment it grew louder and louder. The walls of the temple began to shake. Bits of masonry fell from the ceiling. The wall behind the altar began to crumble and then fall away._

_Castle stared opened mouth at the sight that greeted his eyes. There in the distance was the biggest bowling ball that he had ever seen and it was rolling towards him. Castle didn't want to think how big the ten pins were if they had ball this massive._

_Castle shoved the golden idol into the leather satchel he had slung around his neck and turned. He started to hopscotch across the floor towards the exit. Looking over his shoulder he saw that the ball was gaining speed. He started running faster than he had ever run in all his life. Lethal darts flew from the recesses of the walls in waves missing Castle only barely. He flew out the exit._

_Reaching the pit Castle had no time to catch his breath. The ball was gaining on him. Grabbing the end of the bullwhip he hurled himself across the depthless pit and continued running._

_He could hear the ball continuing on its remorseless path smashing anything and everything in its path. There was no way it was going to crush him, Castle thought to himself, not if he could help it. He ran even faster._

_Approaching the archway of the giant spikes Castle, for a single heart beat thought about slowing down and negotiating it the same way he had done earlier. The loud crashing of the remorseless stone ball told him that the idea was not a good one. He would have to take his chances running right through it. He burst through the archway and heard the loud metallic clash of the spikes coming together. He didn't bother to look back he just kept on running. Moments later there was an ear splitting crash as the rolling ball burst through the archway._

"_Come on, you can run faster." He panted._

_The entrance to the Temple loomed ahead dazzling sunlight pouring through it. Castle looked over his shoulder and his eyes widened in alarm. The stone ball was no more than twenty feet away from him. He flew for the entrance. He burst through and streaked across the small courtyard to the top of the steps._

_The stone ball crashed against the entrance of the temple shattering the walls and sending stone and mortar up in a billowing cloud. Castle leaped off the top step for the ground. He landed with a heavy thump and was stunned from the impact. Dust and debris fell over him._

"_Castle are you all right?" Kate called out._

"_Never better." Castle called back, and then started coughing from the all of the dust._

_Slowly Castle pushed himself off the ground and stands. Removing his hat he dusted himself off causing him to cough some more. Glancing over his shoulder he saw what remained of the temple. There is not much of it left and what did would not be standing for too long. The stone ball had made sure of that. A grim smile reached his lips. With a shake of his head he turned around._

_The smile on his face vanished when he saw his three companions standing close together. Flanking them were several armed men. Standing close to them was a tall dark haired man dressed in a black leather jacket. Another pair of armed men had their rifles trained not on his companions but on him. They had been ambushed._

"_Dr Davidson." Castle said in a growl at the man in the black leather jacket._

"_Dr Castle, we meet again." Replied Dr Davidson in a cheerful voice._

"_We should stop meeting like this, you know people will start talking."_

_Dr Davidson laughed at the joke._

"_Very amusing Dr Castle." He said. "Have you ever thought of treading the boards of vaudeville?"_

_Castle glared back at his archaeological arch rival._

_Dr Davidson stepped closer to Castle and extended his hand. Castle looked at the extended hand and gritted his teeth. He knew what the man wanted and it galled him. He reached for the leather satchel and pulled out the golden idol. He gritted his teeth even more as he placed the statue in his rival's hand. Dr Davidson nodded his head. Then he extended his other hand. Castle made a face as he removed his pistol from its holster and handed that over as well._

"_And you thought I had given up, didn't Dr Castle?"_

"_It did cross my mind."_

"_Well you thought wrong."_

"_So it would appear." Castle said with a shrug of his shoulders._

_Dr Davidson glanced in the direction where Castle's companions were standing and he smiled at Kate before he turned to look at Castle._

"_I get the idol and the girl. It's been a good day's work don't you think?"_

_Castle did not respond, he only glared at the other man. He was aware that Dr Davidson and Kate had a relationship some time in the past. She hadn't been forthcoming with details._

"_Well I can't stand here all day chatting Dr Castle." Dr Davidson said. "I shall bid you a good day." Dr Davidson started to turn away._

_Castle had little doubt that Davidson would have his men shoot him. The last time they had tangled it was the vow that Davidson had made to him. Castle could not be sure if the man would spare Ryan and Esposito. Suddenly an idea leaped into Castle's head._

"_Wait Davidson." Castle called out._

"_What is it?" Dr Davidson said sounding irritated._

"_Why don't we settle this the old fashion way?" Castle suggested._

"_What it is that you propose Castle?"_

"_You...me...a bare knuckle fight."_

_Dr Davidson's eyebrows rose in surprise. He mulled over the suggestion and consented with a nod of his head._

"_Very well." Dr Davidson said and smiled. "And the stakes?"_

"_If you win, you keep the idol and the girl and you get to kill me."_

"_And in the unlikely case that you win?" Dr Davidson asked, his smile growing._

"_You free my friends, I get the idol and we both live to fight another day."_

"_So be it."_

_Castle stepped back removing his hat and jacket. He dumped the satchel on his discarded clothes. He unbuttoned his sleeve and started to roll it up. Dr Davidson was rolling up his sleeves as well._

"_I must warn you Castle I was champion boxer at Oxford four years running." Dr Davidson said with a laugh._

_Castle grimaced at this piece of news. "Now you tell me." He muttered._

_Castle was in his tent seated on his cot. His face was to put it nicely, a mess, it sported a number of bloodied cuts and bruises, his left eye was puffed up and closed over, his nose was broken and sat flat against his face. He was not all that sure if his jaw was broken or not but it sure felt like it. The rest of his body was covered in painful bruises. His ribs were bruised at the very least. He had maintained a stoic attitude since they had returned to the camp._

_Kate sat beside him a bowl of warm water in her lap and was gently cleaning the blood from his battered face. She had been quiet ever since they had left the temple. She had been quiet as she attended to his wounds. Dropping the bloodied wash cloth into the bowl she put the bowl on the table._

"_How are you feeling?" she asked in a low voice._

"_I'm fine, you should see the other guy."_

"_I did."_

_Kate leaned closer to him and planted a soft gentle kiss on his bruised lips. Pulling back a few moments later she saw the look of surprise on his face._

"_I was wondering whether I'd like it." She explained._

"_What's the decision?" Castle asked eagerly. He liked it, he liked it a lot._

"_I don't know yet. It's even better when you help."_

_I'll do much better next time, Castle promised to himself. And when my lips heal I'll be even better yet._

_Kate rose to her feet and walked to the exit. She paused and regarded Castle._

"_You know you don't have to act with me. You don't have to say anything, and you don't have to do anything. Not a thing. Oh, maybe just whistle. You know how to whistle Rick, don't you?" She said in a soft sultry voice. You put your lips together and blow."_

"_Kate that is the most incredibly sexy thing you have ever said to me." Castle announced._

_Kate smiled at him._

_Castle did not want to her to leave. Despite the pain he did as Kate requested. He put his lips together and whistled. A desperate raspy wolf whistle... _

...The sound of laughter made Castle open his eyes. Turning his head he saw the man standing in front of the cell door. Castle saw he was holding a plate of food in one hand and a cup in the other.

"She must have been very attractive if you're wolf whistling in your sleep, Mr Castle." Said the man, amused.

Castle didn't reply. He watched the man approach.

"I really do have to call you something." Castle muttered.

"Call me Mr Smith."

Castle glanced at the man. "Mr Smith?"

"If you like."

"Funny, you don't look like Brad Pitt."

Mr Smith laughed.

"Some people have likened me to Antonio Banderas." Mr Smith said, lifting up his chin as if he was striking a pose. There was a note of pride in his voice too.

Castle was about to laugh but stopped himself. He had met the Spanish actor a couple of times and Mr Smith didn't look anything like him. He wasn't about to mention that to other man. He could see no reason to needlessly antagonise his captor.

Mr Smith set the plate and cup down on the floor. Castle was surprised to see him sit down on a three legged stool. He wondered where that came from? It must have been put in the cell while he had been asleep. How long had he been asleep?

"Are you going to feed me?" Castle asked his eyes dropping down to the plate of food on the floor. He saw that it was beans and rice again just like the first time. He definitely could go for a barrito.

"I think you're a big boy, you don't need my help." Mr Smith chuckled.

Castle did not make any move to reach for the food.

"So how are you feeling Mr Castle?"

"A little better." Castle confessed. The sleep seemed to have done him a bit of good. The headache had faded to just a throbbing whisper. His ribs still bothered him though but he was used to that by now. "I still need a doctor."

"Pity we still don't have one." Mr Smith said, grinning.

"How long have I been here?"

"How long do you think, Mr Castle?"

"Long enough." Castle said with some feeling.

Mr Smith smiled at the writer, amused by the response. Castle stared at his captor realising that the other man was not going to tell him how long he had been kept in the cell.

"Has the great Richard Castle solved the mystery yet?" Mr Smith enquired.

Castle shot Mr Smith a humourless tight lipped smile.

"You know, in all the excitement I've been having in here I haven't given it much thought." Castle said.

"I'm disappointed to hear that, Mr Castle."

"Hey what can I say?" Castle shrugged his shoulders.

"Aren't you curious?"

"Curiosity killed the cat."

"But you aren't a cat, Mr Castle."

"No, I'm not." Castle agreed. "I'm your prisoner."

Mr Smith smiled and inclined his head a little acknowledging the truth of the writer's statement.

Castle looked away from the smiling Mr Smith. He didn't like looking at the man's cold humourless eyes. It made him feel uncomfortable. Slowly a memory of the night of his kidnap rose in his mind.

"What happened to Pedro?" Castle asked suddenly, turning his head to look at Mr Smith.

"Pedro?"

"The man I was with."

"Ah yes." Mr Smith said. "Pedro."

"What happened to him?" Castle demanded. "Did you kidnap him too?"

"No we did not kidnap him."

Castle did not like the way Mr Smith said that.

"What happened to him?" Castle said raising his voice.

Mr Smith grinned back at Castle for several moments.

"Your Pedro, I am told was was very brave." Mr Smith said finally. "He foolishly tried to stop my people from inviting you here. He was quickly shown the error of his actions in no uncertain terms."

"You killed him?" Castle replied, shocked.

Mr Smith shrugged his shoulders dismissively. "Of that I am not certain Mr Castle. Needless to say that my people do not take too kindly being thwarted from their job at hand, as you yourself can attest."

Castle leaned back to rest his head against the wall. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. Tears started to well but he fought them down. He felt anguish at the thought of what happened to the man who had been his guide and handler. In the short time they had been together Castle had come to like Pedro. In between book store appearances they talked and Castle learned about Pedro's wife and children. Like most proud fathers they talked about their children, they shared their hopes and dreams they had for their offspring. Castle could only imagine the pain Pedro's family would be going through at this moment.

"Whether the man is alive or dead is of no matter." Mr Smith said.

Castle opened his eyes and looked angrily at Mr Smith. "It matters to me!"

Mr Smith was taken aback at Castle's response. The smile on his lips faltered a little but then returned.

"I am surprised at your reaction, Mr Castle, truly I am." Mr Smith said. "You write about violence all the time in your books. I dare say you experience violence when you work with the New York police. I would have thought you would be used to it by now?"

"I am not a violent man." Castle replied.

Mr Smith regarded the writer with the kind of look a teacher sometimes gives to a student who has given a stupid answer. Then the amused look quickly returned to his face.

"We are all violent men if and when the circumstances are right, Mr Castle." Mr Smith said. "The difference between you and me is that I do not make any pretence about who I am."

Castle flexed his right hand as his mind harked back to that night long ago when he had reduced Lockwood's face to a bloody pulp with his bare fist. He had been shocked by that display of violence. He did not regret what he did. He had justified his actions because he was protecting Beckett.

Mr Smith chuckled as if he had read the writer's mind.

Castle glared at Mr Smith hoping it radiated the same kind of intensity that a certain New York police detective directed at him when he was in her bad books.

Mr Smith did not seem to be affected by Castle's glare. He only smiled back at the writer.

He had to work on his glare, Castle thought to himself.

"I was hoping we might have the opportunity to discuss some of your books, Mr Castle." Mr Smith announced as he rose to his feet.

Castle continued to glare back at his captor, hiding the surprise at discovering the man was a fan of his books.

"I must confess that I do enjoy reading them. And I am interested in learning why you killed off Derrick Storm." Mr Smith added.

When Castle did not respond, Mr Smith continued. "Maybe next time? Anyway, I shall leave you to have your meal. Buen apetito, Mr Castle."

Castle watched as Mr Smith walked to the open cell door.

"Are you going to kill me?" Castle called out, voicing the thought that had popped into his head.

Mr Smith paused and slowly turned around to look at Castle. The smile had vanished from his face.

"At the moment I do not know, Mr Castle." Mr Smith said. "It all depends on what my friend decides."

"You would tell me though?"

"You have my word on that Mr Castle."

Castle nodded his head, not knowing why he did that.

"If you have a guardian angel, now would be a good time to call upon them." Mr Smith suggested. At Castle's look Mr Smith smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "You just never know what could happen, Mr Castle. You just never know."

Mr Smith turned around and walked out of the cell. The door was closed and quickly locked.

Castle closed his eyes. Did he have a guardian angel, he wondered? Of course he did he reminded himself. The problem was that she was half way across the country and had no idea what misfortune had befallen him.

"I could really use your help here, Kate." He whispered.


	10. Chapter 10

**Once again, thank you for all your reviews and kind words. They inspire me to continue and write to the best of my abilities.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of the characters...**

Chapter 10

Beckett found a parking spot right in front of Castle's building. Getting out of the car she swept the street up and down and spotted the car belonging to the protection detail that Captain Montgomery had placed on Castle's family. There were two men sitting in the front seat of the car, both dressed in suits and sporting dark sunglasses, trying not to look out of place. The one behind the steering wheel Beckett recognised from the Police Commissioner's protection detail.

She scanned the street one more time and spotted a dark blue car pulling up to the kerb about a hundred yards away. It was too far away for her to make out who was in the car but did see the driver was wearing dark sunglasses. She suddenly became tense. Glancing in the direction of the first car she saw the driver speaking into a microphone. The two men in the car weren't making a move. She allowed herself to relax. The arrival of the second car was part of the protection detail she figured.

Entering the building Beckett returned the friendly wave from the doorman and strode across to the lobby to the lifts. Seated in one of the chairs in the lobby reading a newspaper nonchalantly was a man dressed in jeans, t-shirt and leather jacket. The flesh coloured earpiece gave him away as another member of the protection detail. The officer looked up from the newspaper. She gave the man a nod and continued on. Stepping into the lift she pressed the button for Castle's loft. She had no doubt that the man in the lobby was radioing her arrival to the team members upstairs.

As the lift reached Castle's floor Beckett's phone started ringing. She pulled it out of her pocket and checked the Caller ID before she answered the call. The lift doors opened and she stepped out. A guard was standing by the lifts. Beckett reached for her badge but the agent waved it away and pointed towards Castle's loft.

"Please tell me you have good news, Esposito." Beckett said crisply as she nodded her thanks to the agent.

"I wish I did Beckett." Esposito replied unhappily.

Beckett saw two business suited officers standing on either side of Castle's front door watching her approach.

"What have you got?"

"El Paso cops have come back to us. They have several witnesses who saw a man answering Castle's description being jumped on by around half a dozen men." Esposito reported.

"Are they sure?"

"Yeah they're sure. The cops showed Castle's picture to the witnesses."

Beckett stopped walking. Something told her that Esposito wasn't telling her everything.

"Javier...?"

"All the witnesses said that..." Esposito said hesitantly.

"What Javier...? Tell me!"

"The witnesses all said that the gang beat him up real bad before they bundled him in the car and drove off."

Beckett closed her eyes as an icy coldness gripped her heart. She felt the colour drain from her face. Tears threatened but she fought them down. She was not about to breakdown in front of these police officers. There would be time for tears but not right now she vowed to herself.

"Beckett...you ok?" Esposito's voice was heavy with concern.

"Yeah I'm fine, Javier." Beckett sighed. Opening her eyes she saw the guards watching her.

"Sure about that?"

"Yes I'm sure." she snapped. "What about Pedro? Have they been able to speak to him yet?"

"It doesn't look like they'll be talking to him any time soon, boss." Detective Ryan announced.

Beckett was startled. She had not realised that they had her on the speakerphone.

"The guy's got a fractured skull...bleeding on the brain." Ryan reported. "The doctor's aren't even sure if he's going to pull through. It's touch and go at the moment and even if he does come round..." Ryan did not finish the sentence. There was no need to. They all knew.

"Ok, if anything comes up let me know at once."

"You got it." Ryan and Esposito replied in unison.

Beckett rang off and shoved the phone back in her pocket. She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, giving her time to compose herself. She wasn't looking forward to seeing Castle's daughter and mother.

She reached Castle's front door and looked at the guard on the right.

"You're a long way from Gracie Mansion, Steve." She said.

Sergeant Steve Mavros was the chief of the Police Commissioner's protection detail. He nodded his head and gave Beckett tight lipped smile.

"Special orders from the Commissioner." Sergeant Mavros said.

Beckett nodded her head. The captain must have pulled a few strings to have members of both the mayor's and the commissioner's protection details babysitting Castle's family.

"How are they?" Beckett asked.

"Worried."

"We all are, Steve."

Sergeant Mavros nodded grimly as he reached over to pull on the door handle and push the door open for her.

Beckett slowly walked into the loft. She saw Alexis and Martha sitting together on the couch. They both turned in the direction of the front door. On seeing Beckett Alexis jumped from the couch and rushed to her.

"Detective Beckett..." Alexis said as she embraced the detective in a hug. Beckett put her arms around the teenager and hugged her back. Beckett felt now wasn't the time to tell the girl to call her Kate instead of Detective Beckett.

"We're going to find him." Beckett told her. "I promise we're going to find him."

Martha rose from the couch and walked over. Beckett saw that Martha's face was line with deep worry. She had been recently crying. Beckett drew the older woman into a group hug. For several minutes they stood there hugging each.

It was not until this moment that Beckett realised how much she needed this. Despite her earlier vow the tears came but it did not matter because both Martha and Alexis were shedding new tears. The three women drew comfort from each other. Beckett also came to realise that she was a part of this family.

"What would Castle say if he saw us like this?" Beckett said with a laugh as she took a step back. Hurriedly she wiped the tears from her face.

"How are you holding up kiddo?" Martha asked sniffing back tears.

"Ok...under the circumstances." Beckett replied. Martha nodded her head in understanding.

"Has there been any news, Dective Beckett?" Alexis asked anxiously.

Beckett nodded her head slowly.

A number of emotions passed across the Castle women but it was hope that was the strongest. Beckett steeled herself for what she was about to tell them.

"Perhaps we should sit down." She suggested. Hope was replaced by worry on Martha's face.

Once the Castle women were seated at one end of the couch and Beckett seated at the other end did she tell Martha and Alexis about the news of Castle's kidnapping. What she did not tell them was the beating Castle had received before being taken away. Beckett felt that they did not need to know that piece of information and it would not help matters even if they did except to make them even more worried. Beckett also told them what was being done to try and find Castle.

Beckett and Martha were alone in the kitchen. Alexis had gone to her room to do some homework to take her mind off about worrying about her father. Martha was going through the kitchen cupboards in search of a bottle of wine. Beckett was seated on one of the stools checking on her messages on her phone, half hoping there was a message from Castle. There was none. There was one from the Captain which she responded to.

"There's something you're not telling us." Martha announced.

Martha found a half full bottle of red and brought it over where she poured herself a generous measure. Looking to Beckett she raised the bottle in silent offering. Beckett declined the offer with a shake of her head. Martha put the bottle on the kitchen counter and picked up her glass taking a sip of the wine. She looked at Beckett.

"What is it that you're not telling us, Kate?"

Beckett held the other woman's gaze. She could see where Castle got his perceptiveness from. Martha Rogers may be a theatrical diva and played the role to the fullest for the world to see but behind the grease paint was a smart woman and more importantly, a concerned mother.

Beckett bit on her lower lip debating whether or not to tell Martha the rest of it. Castle's mother stared at her. She did not want to hurt Martha or add to her mounting worries. Beckett closed her her eyes momentarily and let out a sigh.

"When Rick was kidnapped..." Becket said slowly. "...the gang beat him up before he was put in the car."

"Dear God." Martha gasped. "They hurt him?"

Beckett nodded her head. "The man that was with Rick, his publicist, tried to stop them but they beat him up, pretty badly."

Martha's free hand went to her mouth to stifle another gasp. She stared at Beckett as tears welled in her blue eyes. A moment later she removed her hand.

"How is the publicist?" She asked.

"Not good." Beckett said grimly. "The doctors say it's touch and go."

Martha nodded her head. She took a sip of her wine and then set the glass on the counter.

"Martha, did Rick mention to you about any concerns about his safety?

Martha arched an eyebrow at the detective. She allowed a small smile to appear on her lips as she waved her hand.

"If he was concerned about his safety the last thing Richard would do would be to confide it to me or Alexis." Martha said finally.

Beckett nodded her head.

"Besides, I would imagine he would tell you before he would tell us."

"He didn't say anything to me." Beckett confessed.

"He doesn't want me to worry..." Martha gave Beckett a gentle smile. "...as if a mother would ever stop worrying about her child simply because she is told by the child not to worry."

"You sound just like my dad." Beckett observed.

Martha smiled at the detective and waved a finger at her.

"One day when you have children you will know exactly what I mean, dear."

Martha turned around and searched through the nearest cupboard for another wine glass. Finding one she brought it over and filled it with wine from the bottle. She pushed the glass across the counter to Beckett.

"Martha...no...I'm fine." Beckett protested.

"Have some, kiddo." Martha insisted. "You look as bad as I feel, dear."

Beckett did not feel like arguing with her over a glass of wine. Truth be told she did need a drink. Letting out a sigh she reached for the glass and took a big sip of the wine. Looking across she saw Martha nodding her head. Beckett smiled back at her.

"So, how long will those hunky looking men be guarding our door, Kate?" Martha motioned with her wine glass in the direction of the front door.

Beckett shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, maybe a few days. Captain Montgomery wants to be sure you and Alexis are safe."

Martha smiled and nodded her head.

"The captain is sending over a Tech person to set up for the monitoring and tracing of your phone." Beckett informed her.

Martha shot the detective a questioning look.

"Now that we know Rick's been kidnapped, the people who took him may try to get in contact with you." Beckett explained.

"Ransom demand?"

Beckett nodded her head.

Martha nodded her head and then took another sip of her wine.

Beckett pushed the plate away from her and looked at the other two women. The Tech officer had been and gone after setting up the recording and tracing equipment. She had not intended to stay for dinner but Alexis had pleaded for her to stay that Beckett found that she could not refuse the girl. The look that Castle's mother had given her also convinced Beckett to stay. None of them were feeling up to cooking dinner so they decided on ordering pizza. They had a laugh over the look the delivery boy had plastered on his face when he arrived at the door. He had been put against the wall and patted down by one of the guards. To help him get over the shock Beckett gave him an extra generous tip.

"I think I had better get going." Beckett announced, glancing at her watch.

"No, please stay it's still early." Alexis shot back.

"I...I...really..." Beckett stammered.

"Kate, dear..." Martha said. "...what Alexis is trying to say is we would both feel a lot more comfortable if you stayed the night."

Beckett was about to protest but saw the sincere look in the older woman's eyes and the pleading one in the teenager's and her protest did not find a voice. They had enough to worry about and did not need any new ones. Truth be told Beckett did not want to go home. She consented with a nod of her head.

"You can stay in dad's room." Alexis suggested, grinning.

"Oh I couldn't do that."

"You can and you will." Martha said in a tone that brooked no argument.

Beckett reached for he glass and drained the remaining wine. Martha offered to refill her glass but she declined with a wave of her hand. She started to giggle as she stared at her empty glass.

"What's so funny dear?" Martha enquired.

Beckett giggled some more. "I'm just picturing the look on Castle's face when he learns I slept in his bed and he was wasn't there to see it."

All three women started laughing.

Beckett and Alexis were on the couch watching TV. The detective had a comforting arm around Alexis. Martha had retired to bed an hour ago. They were watching episodes of _Temptation Lane. _The scene recalled to Beckett's mind of another girl who had once needed comfort.

"Detective Beckett?"

"Alexis, how many times do I have to tell you, please call me Kate?"

"Kate." Alexis said with a brief apologetic smile. "Have the police tried to locate Dad's phone?"

Kate looked down at Alexis and gave her a questioning frown.

"Do you remember that time Dad tracked my cell phone?"

Beckett rolled her eyes at the memory.

"I gave him hell over that episode." Beckett told her.

"As did I."

Suddenly realisation hit Beckett. She could have kicked herself for not thinking of it herself. She released Alexis and got to her feet.

"Do you have a computer that I can use, Alexis?"

"You can use Dad's." Alexis pointed in the direction of Castle's office.

The two women headed into Castle's office. Alexis went around the desk and opened up Castle's laptop and switched it on. Beckett came to stand beside to her. It took a couple of minutes for the laptop to boot up. The password box came up. Beckett looked at the teenager.

"Do you know the password?"

"He used to use my name as the password..." Alexis informed her, smiling. "...until he realised that I knew it and then he changed it."

"And you know his new password?"

"Yep." Alexis quickly typed in the password and a moment later the laptop was ready to be used. Alexis beamed at Beckett. "It wasn't very hard to figure out."

Alexis moved aside for Beckett to access the laptop.

"He uses your name."

Beckett shot an embarrassed look at the grinning teenager. With a shake of her head Beckett turned back to the laptop and quickly accessed the NYPD website. Typing in Castle's cell number she waited for the result. There was no result. She retyped the number but again there was nothing.

"Looks like his phone is switched off." Alexis remarked unhappily. The detective frowned and nodded her head.

Beckett fished out her phone and hit a number on her speed dial. It was answered after the second ring.

"Esposito, are you still at the precinct?"

"Yeah, no rest for the wicked Beckett." Esposito replied.

"See if you can locate Castle's cell GPS signal." Beckett ordered.

"Will do Beckett."

"Now."

"On it, hang on..."

Beckett could hear keys being tapped out in the background.

"How are the Castles doing boss?" Esposito asked to fill in the time.

"Bearing up well as well as possible." Beckett replied.

"Nothing's coming up, Boss." Esposito reported.

"Try again."

"Nothing boss...sorry. His phone must be switched off."

"OK" Beckett sighed. "Anything new?"

"No, nothing Beckett."

"Thanks Javier."

Beckett rang off and frowned.

"It was worth a try, Kate." Alexis offered. "This is hopeless."

Beckett's face suddenly lit up as she remembered something from a case she and Castle had worked not so long ago. She started searching the contacts list on her phone.

"There's always hope, Alexis." Beckett announced as she found the number she was looking for and dialled it.

The phone rang several times before it was answered.

"Yes?" said the male voice.

"It's Detective Kate Beckett."

"I remember Detective Beckett." replied the man.

"I'm calling in the favour you owe me."

"Very well, how may I be of assistance, Detective Beckett?"

"Can we meet at the 12th Precinct?"

There was silence on the other end of the line for some moments.

"I can be there tomorrow Detective Beckett." the man said finally.

"Good, and bring your metal brief case."

"Who was that, Kate?" Alexis asked when the other woman ended the call.

"Someone who may be able to help us locate your father."


	11. Chapter 11

**Your kind words and reviews are the coin of my realm and I thank you one and all for taking the time to respond.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything of Castle nor do I own the movies the dream sequences are based on.**

Chapter 11

_In the distance he saw the small ramshackle farm house. It seemed a little out of place sitting there in the middle of the plain. A thin trail of smoke rose lazily skywards from the chimney. From this distance he could not see any people but where there was smoke people would not be too far away._

"_It was horrible Captain Ricardo,sir." Said Kevin as he walked alongside the warrior dressed in black astride his big black horse. "Horrible I tell you."_

"_I'm sure it was Kevin." Replied the Captain, slightly amused._

"_It was the biggest, blackest wolf I have ever laid eyes on." Kevin exclaimed in a excited tone."The wolf would have killed me for certain."_

"_I'm sure you're exaggerating."_

"_You weren't there, sir." Kevin said heatedly._

_The Captain glanced down at his companion and raised an eyebrow at him._

"_But the wolf tore the throat out of that poor farmer but it left me alone."_

"_God must have been watching over you?" suggested the captain._

"_I was profusely grateful to Him when I spoke to him this morning."_

_Captain Ricardo chuckled as he turned his gaze to the hawk resting peacefully on his left gauntlet. The hawk with green eyes looked up at the captain. He smiled at the bird before turning his gaze to the road ahead that lead to the farm._

"_But there is more, Captain." Kevin continued._

"_More?"_

"_Yes, sir."_

"_I see."_

"_There was lady." Kevin announced._

"_A lady?" Captain Ricardo said glancing down at Kevin._

"_Yes, a beautiful lady. With skin like fine porcelain, and eyes of deep green almost like a bird's. And her voice...The dulcet tones of an angel."_

_Captain Ricardo grinned at the bird sitting on his left hand. He wiggled his eyebrows. The bird sqwarked and turned its head. _

"_She spoke? What did she say?" Captain Ricardo asked suddenly more interested._

"_I asked her if I was dreaming and she said I was."_

_Kevin stopped talking as he looked up at the captain and seeing the amused look on the man's face._

"_I'm not insane, you must believe me when I tell you these things."_

"_No, I believe you." Captain Ricardo said. "I believe you."_

"_That's good to know, sir." Kevin said, mollified._

"_This lady...did she have a name?"_

"_Not that she mentioned, why?"_

_Captain Ricardo let out a soft chuckle. "Well, she may wander into my dreams. Wouldn't it be nice, if I could call her by name and pretend we've met before? I've waited a long time to meet such a lady."_

_Kevin shot the captain a look, realising that the other man had been poking fun at him. He shook his head. They both fell into silence. As they continued along the road Kevin thought back to the other day when he had first met this man:_

_Kevin had been captured by a pair of Guards and a certain return to the dungeons of Auqila was on the cards. It had been this warrior dressed in black who had appeared from out of nowhere and rescued him._

"_And what is your quest, Captain?" Kevin asked._

"_I must kill a man." Captain Ricardo said simply._

"_Does this walking corpse have a name?" Kevin laughed._

"_He does." Said Captain Ricardo. "His Grace, Joshua the Bishop of Aquila."_

_That piece of news shocked Kevin. When he recovered his wits he spoke to the captain._

"_The Bishop...I see...well, then you have much to do and I have been enough of a burden to you." Kevin had started to move away from the Captain. "I hope that our paths cross again one day."_

"_I need you to guide me into the city." Said the Captain._

_That had stopped Kevin. "Not for the life of my sainted mother! Even if I knew who she was."_

"_You are the only one who has ever escaped from Aquila."_

"_It was pure chance." Kevin said shrugging his shoulders and resuming his backward steps._

"_I have waited two years for a sign from God. When I heard that you had escaped from the dungeons of Aquila, I knew the moment of my destiny had come. You will be my guiding angel."_

"_Me sir? The truth is, I talk to God all the time and no offence, but he' never mention you."_

"_No?"_

_Kevin regarded the warrior dressed in black leather armour._

"_There are strange forces at work in your life, magical ones that surround you. I don't understand them but they worry me. You have given me life. The truth is I can never repay you. I have no honour and never will. I don't think you'd kill me for being what I am but better that then to return Aquila."_

"_I need your help." Pleaded the Captain._

_Against his better judgment Kevin had allowed himself to fall in with the Captain and his deadly quest. Over the past couple of days Kevin thought himself insane for casting his lot with Captain Ricardo. Yet here he was walking beside the captain. He shook his head again._

_As they approached the farm house Captain Ricardo suddenly reined his big black horse to a halt and regarded the five soldiers that had emerged from behind the ramshackle farm house and haystacks. From the deep red colour of their surcoats he knew they belonged to the bishop's Guard. _

"_From their looks they mean to do us harm." Kevin said as he trotted up beside the Captain. "Should we not turn and leave, captain?"_

_On the ruggedly handsome face of the captain came a smile. His blue eyes slowly assessed each soldier carefully. _

"_They will only follow us, Kevin." the Captain replied, his eyes focused on the soldiers. "More importantly Aquila is behind them."_

"_Five against one are not good odds, sir."_

"_It seems a fair fight."_

_Kevin turned his head and gave the warrior a pointed look before he shook his head. He could not understand why men such as the captain preferred to fight, even looked forward to it when there was a perfectly good second option. Kevin was no coward, he could handle himself in a scrap and had done so many times but given a choice he would turn and run and live to fight another day rather than stand and fight._

_The five soldiers began to prepare to confront the warrior dressed in black. The captain quickly released the hawk that had been sitting quietly on his left gauntlet. He launched her into the air and watched for a moment as the bird soared high in to the air. He turned and focused on the soldiers. The smile deepened on his face._

"_Kevin."_

"_Yes Captain?"_

"_Unless you are going to join me in this fight, I would suggest it would be best if you stepped away." Captain Ricardo suggested._

"_Yes, sir, very good of you sir." Kevin replied as he scurried away._

_Captain Ricardo started reaching for his sword but paused when he saw two of the soldiers raising their crossbows. The captain reached for his double headed crossbow. Lifting it quickly he aimed and fired. The bolt stuck the first soldier in the throat throwing him out of the saddle. In the blink of an eye he fired the second bolt and it hit the second soldier in the heart. The soldier slumped in his saddle and then fell to the ground._

_The captain had little time to revel in the small victory as the third solider was galloping towards him closing the distance rapidly, his sword raised and ready. Captain Ricardo urged his black stead forward to confront the approaching soldier. Having no time to draw his sword the captain used the weapon he held in his hand. He swung the crossbow hard catching the soldier square in the face. The soldier flew out of the saddle to land with a crash on the ground. He didn't move from where he landed._

_Kevin watched the battle with a racing heart. He might not have liked the captain all that much for engaging him on this mad quest of his but he hated the Bishop's Guards more. The treatment at their hands in the dungeons of Aquila prison was still a fresh and painful memory. He saw the fourth soldier lifting a crossbow and slowly taking aim at Captain Ricardo who was wheeling his horse about to confront the remaining soldiers._

"_Oh no you don't" Kevin muttered to himself._

_He reached down and picked a round fist-size stone. In one swift movement he aimed and threw the projectile in the direction of the fourth soldier. The stone struck the soldier square in the face. The force of the blow was not hard enough to unsaddle the man but it stunned him and he rocked back in his saddle. The crossbow in his hands was lifted upwards as he pulled the trigger. The bolt flew into the air._

_A moment later a piercing scream rent the air. Three sets of eyes scanned the clear blue sky. Captain Ricardo was horrified at the sight that he beheld. The hawk had been struck near the left wing by the errant bolt. The bird desperately tried to stay aloft, flapping its good wing but began to lose altitude. It spiralled downwards, screaming. At the last moment the bird spread its wings and landed heavily._

_Captain Ricardo was about to race over to the fallen bird, thoughts of battle forgotten, when he was struck in the chest by a crossbow bolt. His heavy leather armour protected him from the deadly intention of the projectile. He glared at the soldier who fired the bolt. The soldier charged towards the captain. Captain Ricardo calmly pulled out the bolt and urged his horse forward. When the two men were almost on top of each other Captain Ricardo flattened himself against the neck of his horse. He felt the whoosh of the other man's sword as it past perilously close to his head. At the same time the captain drove the bolt into the soldier's unprotected stomach. The soldier let out a cry as he fell out of the saddle._

_The captain did not stop to inspect his handy work. He roughly wheeled his horse around and galloped to the spot where the hawk had landed. Not waiting for the horse to stop he launched himself out of the saddle and raced toward the wounded bird._

"_Easy, you'll be all right." Ricardo said in a gentle tone as he gathered the wounded bird. Looking around he spotted Kevin standing beside his horse. "Get me a piece of cloth from my saddle bag."_

_Kevin jumped at the command. He found a large piece of cloth and he brought it over to the worried looking captain. Ricardo carefully wrapped the hawk in the cloth and slowly got to his feet._

"_Kevin you will take her and find help." Ricardo announced._

"_Me sir?" Kevin said shocked._

_Ricardo nodded his head. "You're the only one I have."_

"_But sir, the hawk is done for."_

_Captain Ricardo reached out with his free hand grabbed Kevin by the throat. Kevin was startled by the man's quick reaction and even more amazed at the strength of the gloved fingers closing around his throat._

"_Don't say that!" Captain Ricardo shouted angrily. He released Kevin. "Follow this road. You'll find a ruined fort. There's a monk named Montgomery...give him the hawk, he will know what to do."_

"_Sir, I don't think you understand..." Kevin protested._

"_Get on my horse."_

"_You're the only one who can ride him."_

"_Get on my horse now!"_

_Kevin realised that arguing with the captain would get him nowhere. The man seemed almost beside himself with concern for the wounded hawk. Letting out a sigh of frustration he marched over to where the horse was standing, the captain followed him carrying the wounded bird. Slowly he took the reins and climbed into the saddle._

"_Careful." the captain said as handed the hawk to Kevin. "Mark this well, Kevin. If you fail I will follow you till the end of my days and I will find you. And when I find you, it will not be pleasant."_

"_Oh sure nothing like the promise of a horrible death as an added incentive." Kevin quipped sourly._

"_Now go, ride." Captain Ricardo slapped the rump of his horse. "Go!"_

_Captain Ricardo watched them ride off down the road with a heavy heart and silently praying that the monk would be able to help. _

_Kevin looked up at the sky and saw that the sun had only about an hour before setting. In the valley below the evening shadows were sweeping across. He was feeling relieved that he had nearly reached his destination. At the top of the hill that he had been climbing was the ruins of the fort. The stone walls of the fort still looked sturdy enough to withstand a siege. He would be grateful to be out of the saddle. There were muscles in parts of his body aching that he didn't know he had._

"_See we're nearly there." Kevin said to the hawk. The hawk wasn't too impressed and showed its displeasure by nipping at his finger. Kevin let out a sharp cry of pain. "Well that's gratitude for you! Let the monk watch you die then!"_

_Horse and rider reached the front gate of the fort._

"_Hello, anybody here!" Kevin shouted._

"_Hello, hello." shouted the man on the rampart. A moment later Kevin saw the old monk. "What do you want?"_

"_I was told to bring you this bird. It's been wounded." Kevin called out._

"_Oh good!" The monk said excitedly. "Bring her in and we'll dine together."_

"_We can't eat this bird father."_

"_Oh? Why not?...It's not Lent all ready is it?"_

"_This is no ordinary bird, father." Kevin explained. "It belongs to a man named Ricardo de Castillo."_

"_Mother of God!" Father Montgomery exclaimed as the colour drained from his ebony face. "Bring her in! Bring her in!"_

_Kevin followed the monk into the room._

"_Over there, boy." Father Montgomery pointed to the bed. "Place her on the bed."_

_Kevin gently placed the wounded bird on the bed._

"_Now get out boy." the monk said drawing Kevin away from the room. "Captain Ricardo was right. I know what to do. But we must wait a little while."_

_Kevin had been pacing up and down porch in front of the room where the hawk had been left. The sun had set not all that long ago and the veil of night was slowly being draped across the sky. Stars were slowly making their appearance. In the distance he had heard the howl of a lone wolf. _

_He stopped pacing when he heard Father Montgomery emerge from the room. Quickly he ducked around the corner so the monk would not see him. He heard the older man mutter to himself about gathering a variety of herbs that he needed. Kevin was no apothecary but he suspected that the monk need these herbs to heal the hawk._

_When the monk was out of sight Kevin emerged from his hiding spot and approached the door to the room. Curiosity had gotten the better of him and he needed to see that the bird was all right. Also he did not fancy being hunted down by the captain. The unpleasantness Captain Ricardo had promised did not bear thinking about._

_The door was padlocked but Kevin made short work of the lock. There had not been a lock made by man that he could not open. It was one of the reasons that had found him in the dungeons. He had been caught breaking into a nobleman's house. That is what the Guards had accused him of. _

_Kevin opened the door and slowly crept into the room. Several lamps had been lit and they provided more than enough light to see. He had taken only a couple of steps before he stopped dead and stared at the bed, slack jawed._

_In the bed where the hawk should have been was the beautiful lady he had encountered the last couple of evenings. A thick blanket covered her but her bare arms and shoulders were exposed and Kevin did not need his imagination to realise she was naked underneath the blanket. A long shafted crossbow bolt protruded from her left shoulder. At his entrance the woman turned to look at him. Her green eyes held his gaze._

"_Ricardo, is he..?" She asked anxiously._

"_He is fine, my lady." Kevin assured her. "Just fine."_

_A thin smile rose to her lips._

"_There was a terrible battle." Kevin added. "But the Captain fought like a lion! The hawk...The hawk was struck" He looked at the protruding bolt. "But you know that, don't you?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Are you flesh or are you spirit?" Kevin asked._

"_I am sorrow." She sighed._

_Kevin wanted to approach the bed and ask her more questions but it was at that moment that Father Montgomery chose to return to the room. He was startled to find Kevin in the room. He chased Kevin out of the room._

"_And this time stay out." Father Montgomery shouted as he closed the door in Kevin's face._

_Kevin sat close to the fire. His nerves still jangled from the piercing scream he had heard come from the room where the Lady was. When he had heard the scream he had raced to the door and was about to burst through but Father Montgomery's commanding voice had told him to go away, that everything was fine. Reluctantly Kevin obeyed._

_A mournful howl echoed in the night. _

_Kevin looked up from the flames and looked in the direction of the window. A second howl came, louder than the first. It unnerved him a little. No it unnerved him a lot. He was grateful that he was behind closed doors. He still remembered the black wolf he had confronted the other night and what it had done. He heard Father Montgomery approach. Another unearthly howl pierced the night._

"_It's him, isn't it?" Kevin asked motioning in the direction of the window. "The wolf, somehow it's him."_

_Father Montgomery glanced at Kevin but did not respond. He walked over to the table. He picked up the wine jug and filled two cups. He brought them over holding one to Kevin._

"_Drink and forget." Father Montgomery told him. Kevin shook his head._

_Father Montgomery shrugged his shoulders and walked over to the other side of the fire and sat down. He took a big drink from his cup then looked across the Kevin._

"_What are you called, boy?"_

"_I'm called many things, father." Kevin responded. "But I usually answer to Kevin."_

_Father Montgomery took another sip from his cup. He motioned with his head in the direction of the other room._

"_Her name is Katherine de Beckett." He announced. "Her father was the duke De Beckett, an intemperate man. He found his death slaying Saracens at the walls of Antioch. She came to live, with her cousin here in Aquila." _

_The monk paused in his story to drain the cup. He set it aside and reached for the second one. He stared down at it. A wistful smile came to his face before he spoke._

"_I shall never forget the first time I saw her. It was like looking at..."_

"_The face of love." Kevin offered._

_The smile on the monk's face deepened as he looked at Kevin._

"_You too eh?" He said. "Well I supposed we were all in love with her in different ways. Even his Grace the Bishop, couldn't think of anything else."_

"_The Bishop loved her?" Kevin said shocked. "Is that allowed?"_

_Father Montgomery shrugged his shoulders._

"_So the bishop loved her." Kevin mused aloud._

"_As near enough as that evil man could." Father Montgomery continued. "His passion for her became an obsession, a madness. He became possessed. Katherine sensed his wickedness and shrank from him. She sent back all his letters and left his poems unread." The monk paused to take a big sip from the cup. "You see her heart was all ready lost. It was lost to the Captain of the Guard..."_

"_Ricardo De Castillo." Kevin said filling in the gap._

_Father Montgomery looked over to Kevin and nodded his his head. He drained the cup and then rose to his feet. He made his way over to the table and refilled the cup._

"_The Bishop did not know about their love. But everyday he saw it grow stronger and deeper and richer. Until..." The monk's voice trailed off._

"_Until?" Kevin prompted the older man._

"_They were betrayed."_

"_No!"_

"_Sadly, yes Kevin." Father Montgomery sighed. "The two lovers shared the same confessor. A weak, foolish priest. One day on a drunken confession to his superior, he committed a mortal sin. He revealed the lovers' secret vows. The old fool did not realise what he had done at first, or the terrible revenge the bishop would exact." _

_The monk left the table and returned to his seat. Once he was seated he stared at the fire for some moments before he resumed his story._

"_The bishop seemed to go mad, he lost both his sanctity and his reason. He swore that if he could not have her then no man would. Ricardo and Katherine were forced to flee Aquila but the bishop followed them. He followed, ever more ardent, more persistent than a hound. This evil and powerful man called upon the powers of darkness for the means to damn the lovers. In his fury and frustration, he struck a dreadful bargain…with the Evil One."_

_Both the monk and Kevin made the sign of the cross at the mention of the Evil One._

"_The dark powers of Hell spat up a terrible curse." Said Father Montgomery. He lifted his gaze from the flames and focused on Kevin. "And you have seen it at work, young Kevin. By day, Katherine is the beautiful bird you brought to me. By night, as you have already guessed, the voice of the wolf that we hear is the cry of Ricardo. Poor dumb creatures, with no memory of the half-life of their human existence, never touching in the flesh. Only the anguish of but a moment at sunrise and sunset, when they can almost touch… but cannot."_

"_Always together…eternally apart…" Kevin said sadly, tears welling in his eyes._

_Father Montgomery nodded his head slowly. " As long as the sun rises and sets, as long as there is day and night, and for as long as they both shall live. You have stumbled upon a tragic story, young Kevin. And now, whether you like it or not, you are lost in it, with the rest of us."_

_Kevin rose to his feet._

"_I think I will have that drink now, Father." He said in a shaky voice._

"_And you can refill mine while you're at it." Father Montgomery said holding his empty cup._

_Kevin had a fitful night's sleep and when he could sleep no longer he hauled himself out of the bed and went outside. Dawn was slowly chasing away the night and there was a chill in the air._

_His head throbbed with a raging hangover and he cursed himself for having drunk too much wine with Father Montgomery the night before. Youthful arrogance had pushed him into believing that he could out drink the older man. It was a painful lesson to learn but he did not regret it. He drank too much wine not to best the older man but in an effort to forget the sad story the monk had told, even if it was for a little while._

_Kevin let out a yawn and rubbed what little sleep he had from his eyes. He looked to the east and in the distant hills he saw the orange glow tinting the tops of the hills. The sun was not too far away from making its appearance once again._

_Turning his gaze from the distant hills his eyes fell upon the sitting form of the black wolf. The animal was sitting across from the door of Katherine's room as if it was guarding it. The wolf's blue eyes watched Kevin carefully. Having seen what the animal was capable Kevin was not about to make any sudden move that would arouse it. He stood rooted to the spot._

_The door to Katherine's room opened and the lady herself appeared. Kevin turned to look at her as did the wolf. She was dressed in a white cotton shift. Her long brown hair was dishevelled from sleep and she still looked pale from her recent injury and yet to Kevin's eyes she still looked very beautiful. The wolf let out a soft whine and it brought a smile to her face._

_Kevin watched as Katherine crossed the short distance and came to kneel in front of the wolf. She reached out and slowly stroked the animal's thick fur. Kevin could not be sure but he thought he saw the wolf smiling. Katherine smiled as she spoke to the wolf in a soft voice, the words did not carry to Kevin but then they were not meant for him. He was transfixed by the scene he beheld, he knew he should leave them alone but he found his feet did not respond. He continued to watch them._

_The rays of the morning sun peered over the crest of the distant hills and fell over the two lovers bathing them in a golden light. The wolf turned his head in the direction of where the sun was making its appearance and let out a plaintive whine before looking back at the woman._

_Kevin watched in horror and fascination as the golden light intensified and became luminescent. Katherine removed her had from the wolf but continued to stare at him. The wolf whined again as his body began to transform, growing larger losing his coast of black fur. As the transformation continued the wolf vanished and a human form began to impose itself. Where there had been black hair there was now skin, pale white skin. The wolf snout vanished to be replaced by the ruggedly handsome face of Ricardo de Castillo._

_Kevin continued to watch and without realising it tears were trickling down his cheeks. He could barely breathe as he stared at the two lovers._

_On the face of Ricardo there was a look of adoration and longing as he gazed in to the face of the woman he loved. He reached out his hand to her. Katherine reached out to him but then stopped. As the sun peaked over the crest of the hill the two lovers were bathed in more intense gold light. Katherine began to inexorably change, succumbing to the curse, returning to her animal form. Her pale skin was soon covered in brown feathers, her body rapidly shrinking and changing into its avian form._

_Kevin blinked back the tears and was shocked to find where there had been the kneeling form of the beautiful Lady Katherine the hawk now stood. It sqwarked loudly as it flapped its wings, testing them. _

"_Always together...eternally apart." Kevin whispered as he choked back the tears._

_Ricardo reached out for the hawk but the bird let out another sqwark and then took flight. He watched it as it soared high into the air._

"_Captain...sir..." Kevin said hesitantly. "Are you all right?"_

_Ricardo let out a scream in response._

"_I guess not." Kevin muttered to himself._

_Ricardo still on his knees stretched out his arms skywards towards the hawk and let out a loud plaintive scream of anguish..._

_..._Castle opened his eyes and found that he was laying down on the cot. His chest was hurting and he clutched as it with his arm trying to control his rapid breathing. He found he was bathed in sweat. Slowly and painfully his breathing returned to some semblance of normal and he waited for the pain in his chest to ease. He tried to remember the dream he had just experienced but the ephemeral tendrils he tried to grasp slipped away from him. The harder he reached for them the further they drew away only to vanish completely.

Turning his head he looked at the cell door. The empty plate remained where he had thrown it. The stool was still in the cell. No one had come in when he had been asleep. He must not have been asleep for too long he figured to himself. He was not sure if that was good or bad. He turned and stared up at the ceiling.

There was one thing he did remember from the dream. He remembered her face. It brought a smile to his face as it always did whenever he thought about her. The next moment his smile faltered.

"Why did she turn into a hawk?" He wondered aloud. Then he had another thought. "And what the hell was Kevin Ryan doing in my dream?"


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Kate Beckett slowly came to consciousness. For some moments she hovered in that land between wakefulness and sleep. Her nose was assailed by familiar smells that curved her lips into an involuntary smile. The call of sleep was like a siren song and she wanted nothing more than to sleep a little longer. She wanted to luxuriate in the warmth of the sheets that surrounded her. No matter how strong the siren song was the alarm on her phone was stronger and louder, dragging her away from the land of sleep.

Blindly reaching over to the nightstand she killed the strident alarm. Opening her eyes she took in the darkened surrounds. Nothing seemed familiar to her sleep fogged mind. Then it came to her in a rush. She immediately sat bolt up right in the bed. She was in Castle's bedroom.

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes she forced herself to relax and recalled the night before. Switching on the bedside lamp she picked up her phone and checked the time. It was six o'clock in the morning. Then she checked her messages. As she expected there were none from the one person she wanted to hear from. Just a handful from Josh that she had not bothered to read or respond to.

Sooner or later she was going to have to talk to him she realised, remembering the scene at the precinct yesterday. It was not a prospect that filled her with any joy.

Putting her phone back on the nightstand she pulled aside the blankets and reluctantly hauled herself out of bed.

Coming down the stairs she spotted Alexis sitting in the kitchen, a school book opened in front of her and a bowl of cereal beside it.

"Hey Alexis." Beckett said softly as she approached the girl.

Alexis turned her head and beamed at the detective.

"Morning Kate."

"You're up early."

The girl nodded her head and shrugged her shoulders. "I didn't sleep all that well." She confessed.

Beckett put her arm around Alexis and hugged her tightly. She felt a little bad she had slept better than she had in many weeks while Alexis hadn't.

"I have coffee ready." Alexis announced when they broke the embrace.

"I could kiss you." Beckett said with a smile.

Beckett kissed Alexis on the top of her head before going around the counter to where the coffee pot was being kept warm. She poured herself a steaming cup and brought it over to the counter. She saw Alexis smiling at her.

"What?"

"The tee shirt you're wearing."

"What about it?"

"Dad would get a kick to see you wearing it. It's his favourite Star Wars tee shirt."

Beckett glanced down at what she was wearing and smiled guiltily. It depicted the movie poster from the original Star wars movie with Luke, Lea and Han with the menacing visage of Darth Vader looming in the background.

Beckett had grabbed the first tee shirt she found when she had opened one of the drawers in search of something to wear to bed last night. She gave the girl a shrug of her shoulders and smiled. Alex beamed back. Bringing the coffee mug to her lips she took a sip of the coffee. She closed her eyes momentarily as she savoured the first hit of caffeine for the day.

"Do you want some breakfast, Kate?" Alexis offered. "How about some pancakes?"

"No need to go to any trouble, Alexis, some cereal will be fine."

"It's no trouble, really."

Beckett did not have the heart to protest in the face of the girl's enthusiasm so she consented with a nod of her head.

"I'm going to grab a shower." Beckett announced, watching as the girl got off the stool and raced around the counter.

"Breakfast will be waiting for you when you get back Kate."

Fifteen minutes later Beckett was dressed and seated on a stool beside Alexis having breakfast.

"Are you going to go to school today, Alexis?" Beckett inquired.

Alexis looked up from her plate and shook her head.

"I'm going to stay home again today." Alexis explained.

Beckett raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Paige and a couple of other friends will take notes for me."

"Would you like me to call your school?"

"Thanks but that's all ready been taken care of."

Beckett continued to look at the red haired girl.

"I thought I'd keep Grams company."

The Detective smiled and nodded her head in understanding.

"She may not show it but she is really worried about dad." The girl added.

Beckett reached out and stroked Alexis' arm.

"We all are sweetie, we all are."

Glancing at her watch she saw that it was nearing seven.

"I have to get going." She announced, getting off the stool. "I want to get into the precinct early but I have to stop by my place to change first." She gathered up the empty plates.

"I'll take care of the dishes, Kate." Alexis said.

"Sure?"

The girl smiled and nodded her head. Beckett set the plates down on the counter.

"Kate..." Alexis paused not able to finish the sentence.

Beckett saw the worry that Alexis had been trying to conceal rise to her face.

"If I find out anything you'll be the first to know." Beckett told her.

Alexis slid off her stool and walked up to Beckett and hugged. Beckett returned the hug with equal force.

"I know you'll find him Kate." Alexis said firmly.

Beckett was touched by the blind faith the girl showed in her. She desperately hoped she could live up to that faith.

Beckett emerged from Castle's loft to find Sergeant Mavros and his people guarding the front door and corridor.

"Don't you ever sleep, Steve?" She asked, smiling.

"Started shift half an hour ago, Beckett." Sergeant Mavros replied with a half smile on his face.

"Alexis and Martha will be staying in today." Beckett reported.

Mavros nodded his head. "Makes our job a little bit easier."

"Well, I'll see you later, Steve." Beckett said and started for the lifts.

"Where do you think you're going Beckett?"

Beckett stopped and looked back to Mavros, a puzzled looked on her face.

"First I'm heading home to change and then head into the precinct."

Mavros held out his hand. "Your keys, please."

"What?"

"Hand over your car keys please."

Beckett stared in disbelief at the chief of the protection detail.

"I'm perfectly capable of driving myself, Steve."

Mavros nodded his head. "I know you are. Please hand over your car keys."

"Why? I don't understand."

"Orders from up on high."

Beckett glared back at the sergeant but he was impervious to it. His hand remained outstretched, waiting for her keys.

The detective continued to glare back at the sergeant.

"What if I refuse and just leave?"

"I'd rather you didn't, Beckett. It would be much better for all concerned and less embarrassing, if you just handed over your car keys, please."

The look on the face of the chief of the detail told her that he would do whatever was needed and she would end up losing the battle.

Suddenly it dawned on her. The anger drained from her along with the colour from her face.

"You think I might be a target." she said in a low voice.

"Orders are that you get protection as well."

"Whose orders?"

"Keys, please."

Beckett knew that Sergeant Mavros was not going to tell her. She had a fair idea who was behind the new orders. There was every chance that she was going to give the man a piece of her mind when next she saw him. She couldn't believe she hadn't been told. Angrily she dug into her bag and retrieved her car keys. She tossed them over to the sergeant.

"Thank you Beckett."

Mavros held out the keys to the bodyguard standing behind him.

"George, drive Detective Beckett to her apartment and then to the precinct." He ordered. "And take Cooper with you."

George took the car keys and walked to the lifts and pressed the down button.

Beckett continued to glare at Sergeant Mavros who gave her a '_don't blame me' _shrug of his shoulders. She closed her eyes and shook her head. Letting out a sigh she turned away and faced the lift waiting for it to arrive.

Kate Beckett was not feeling like a happy camper, in fact she was silently fuming as the car pulled into a parking spot not far from her apartment building. She was sitting in the back seat of her own car while it was driven by Cooper. She never let anyone drive her car. George rode shot gun in the front passenger seat. It galled her to be driven around in her own car. George was out the door the moment the car had come to a stop. Beckett started to open her door.

"Wait please, Detective." Said Cooper in a firm voice.

"You got to be kidding?" Beckett said rolling her eyes.

"No detective."

"I'm a cop for God's sakes."

"Yes Detective."

George opened the door for her. She got out and started walking towards her apartment. George fell into step beside her on her right. A couple of moments later Cooper trotted up on her left.

"Are you going to be shadowing me all day?" she demanded.

"For as long as it takes Detective Beckett." George replied. His eyes were sweeping the street ahead of them, looking for anything that could pose a danger. "We'll try not to get in your way."

Beckett let out a loud sigh of frustration. At least her last shadow knew how to make the experience a little more palpable with his witty remarks and lame jokes. Looking from George to Cooper she didn't think they were capable of cracking a joke to lighten the mood. They were by the book.

The lift reached her floor and the door slid open. Standing in front of the open doors was a tired looking Josh.

"Kate." He called out his face brightening.

Instantly the two bodyguards moved into action. George slid across to shield Beckett while Cooper stepped swiftly out of the lift to have a very startled Josh pinned up against the opposite wall. A forearm pressed against the base of his throat and a gun poking him in the chest.

"Kate...what the hell?" Josh demanded. "What's going on?"

"Guys stand down." Beckett said wearily. "He's my...friend."

Cooper looked to his partner. George nodded his head. Cooper eased his forearm off Josh's throat but continued to press the gun against his chest. He quickly frisked the doctor.

"Kate what the hell is going on?" Josh demanded angrily. "And who are these guys?"

"He's clean." Cooper announced crisply before he stepped away.

"Kate?"

"I'll explain inside." Beckett replied, a flush of embarrassment colouring her cheeks.

Reaching her front door Cooper held up Beckett's keys, she pointed out the front door key. Cooper unlocked the door.

"Wait here, please Detective Beckett." George said putting a hand on her shoulder. "Cooper is going to take a look inside first."

Beckett looked at George sharply. The bodyguard removed his hand from her shoulder.

"Kate are you going to tell me what is going on here?" Josh was rising.

"In a moment, Josh."

Five minutes later Cooper opened the front door and stepped aside. Beckett stormed into her apartment Josh hot on her heels.

"Kate, damn it, tell me what's going on?" Josh shouted.

"Now's not a good time Josh." Beckett replied as she headed for her bedroom.

"When is it a good time?" Josh said as he followed her. "What's going on, talk to me."

Stopping in the middle of her bedroom she turned to face Josh. Anger and concern warred on his face. As much as she did not want to tell him what was going on she knew that she had no choice. The two bodyguards that had accompanied her saw to that.

"A couple of night ago Castle went missing down in El Paso." She said. "I spent the night at Castle's place keeping his mother and daughter company."

"Kate you should have told me." Josh said. "You should have sent a message."

He walked over to her and put his arms around her drawing her to him.

"You should have told me."

Yes she should have told him, she thought to herself. Why she didn't was something she could not explain.

"So what's he gone and done, run off with some bimbo he found in El Paso?" Josh laughed.

Beckett stiffened in his arms. She didn't like the remark nor his laughter. It got her back up. Josh was like most people who believed the Richard Castle they read about on page 6 was the real Richard Castle. The page 6 Castle was nothing like the man she knew. She resented it when people thought of him in that way. She broke from his embrace and took a step back from him.

"So what's with the goons out there?" He asked.

"They're my bodyguards."

"Bodyguards?" Josh looked at her carefully. "Why? Are you in some kind of danger?"

Beckett could only shrug her shoulders in response to his question. She had no idea. She saw the anger rise up on his face.

"What has that goddam SOB gone and done to put you in danger?" He demanded.

Beckett glared at him.

"Nothing."

"Come on Kate." Josh retorted. "Having two bodyguards is not nothing. What's he done?"

"He's done nothing." Beckett insisted.

"That's bull."

"Fine, whatever." She said dismissively.

She was not in the mood for an argument with him. Lately they had been having far too many arguments. She was tired of it.

"I want to know what he's done." Josh demanded his voice rising in anger.

Beckett saw that Josh was not going to let this go. "He's been kidnapped, OK?"

"Oh." The anger drained from Josh's face. "Kate, I'm sorry."

She accepted the apology with a nod of her head. She moved to her wardrobe and searched for a change of clothes. Finding what she wanted she draped the clothes over a chair.

"But what's with the bodyguards, then?"

"My superiors think I might be a target."

"Why?"

"I don't know for sure but it might have to do with some case Castle and I worked on." Beckett explained and shrugged her shoulders. It was one of the theories that had been rolling around in her head as she was being driven to her apartment. It made sense.

"Damn it Kate." He sighed heavily and ran his hand through his hair. "I've lost count of the number of times you've nearly been killed doing this job."

"Don't Josh, don't you dare go there." Beckett cut him off.

She knew what he was going to say. They had a few fights over this as well. "I'm not going to give up my job."

"It's getting too dangerous."

Beckett couldn't hold back the anger.

"And what about you when you're in Africa or wherever is it? Isn't that dangerous?"

"That's different."

"No it's not Josh. I may not like it when you fly out on some new mission for Doctors Without Boarders but I understand why you do it, and I accept it. Your job is important. My job is important."

"Important to whom?"

"To me!"

"More important than us?" Josh asked.

Beckett did not answer him. She bit on her lower lip to stop from herself from uttering the one single word that was on her tongue. She did not want to hurt him and turned away reaching for her clothes.

"Excuse me but I need to change." She said.

"Go ahead." Josh waved his hand and sat down on the edge of her bed. He wanted to continue the fight.

She had changed in front of him countless times but this morning she did not want him watching. She did not even want in him in her bedroom.

"Get out."

"What if I want to stay?" Josh said defiantly.

She turned back to look at him. "One shout from me and those two goons as you describe them, will come piling in here."

Josh stared at her in disbelief. He saw the determined look in her eyes. "You would do it too." It was a statement.

"Today is not a day to try my patience Josh." She said coldly.

Josh was shocked by what she had just said. He shook his head. Rising from the bed he walked to the door. He paused in the doorway and looked back. A thought came to him.

"Do you love him?"

Beckett looked at him startled. She had not expected the question. The heat rose to her cheeks. She knew who he was asking about but did not respond to the question.

"Do...you...love...him?" He demanded heatedly.

She could only reply with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Not an answer!"

Beckett saw the anger blazing in his eyes. Not able to hold his gaze any longer she cast her eyes to the floor.

"I don't know..." she said finally, almost in a whisper, "...maybe..."

Beckett heard him let out a grunt before leaving, closing the door on the way out. She let out a long sigh as she ran her hands over her face. If their relationship had been approaching the jagged rocks for some time this episode had just ran it aground.

The doors of the lift slowly opened. Kate Beckett stepped out of the lift flanked by George and Cooper. The two bodyguards took up station by the lifts and watched as Beckett strode into the bullpen and to her desk where she dumped her bag and jacket.

Her eyes went to the empty chair beside her desk. She stared at it for some moments. For the first time she realised that she could imagine what it would feel like if he never again sat in that chair. She did not like what her mind had conjured up. It frightened her. She pushed those thoughts out of her head.

Looking over she saw that Ryan and Esposito's desks were empty. Surveying the bullpen she saw the two detectives in the briefing room. Detective Karpowski was with them.

"Hey guys." Beckett said as she stood in the doorway. She noticed that the piles of Castle's fan mail had been removed and had been replaced with files. "What are you doing?"

"Morning Beckett." Ryan was the first to speak, greeting Beckett with a smile. "How are the Castle girls?"

"Fine, all things considered." Beckett replied. "What are you doing?"

"The captain's got us going through some case files." Karpowski informed her.

"I thought you had a case Karpowski?"

"It was open and shut." The other female detective said and shrugged. "Jealous boyfriend. We picked him at his favourite bar. He confessed within five minutes of putting him in the box. Seeing I had some free time I pitched in to helped the guys."

Beckett nodded her head. Judging by the amount of files stacked on the table there was several years worth. "Are those files the cases Castle and I worked on?" She asked.

"Yeah, three years of case files." Esposito replied. The next moment he stifled a yawn with the file he had been holding.

"Have you guys pulled an all-nighter?"

Esposito nodded his head.

"Why didn't one of you guys call me in?" Beckett demanded.

"You were looking after the Castles." Ryan said.

"Damn it, you should have called me in."

"Hey Beckett, we got it, ok?" Esposito said.

"Found anything yet?"

"Not yet, Beckett." Ryan said unhappily.

"We're still looking though." Esposito said in a firm voice.

Beckett nodded her head and left the briefing room. Glancing in the direction of the lifts she saw her two bodyguards had not moved from where they had taken up station. George was watching her. She found it a little unnerving. Quickly she picked up her pace as she headed towards the captain's office. Captain Montgomery was emerging from his office.

"I need to speak to you, sir." Beckett announced as she walked past him and into the office.

"OK." Captain Montgomery said in a low voice. He followed her into his office and made his way to his chair and sat down. He saw that Beckett was standing in front of his desk with her hands on her hips. She did not look happy.

"How are Martha and Alexis holding up?" He asked.

"Fine."

"Good."

"Why wasn't I called in to go through my case files captain?" Beckett demanded.

"You weren't needed." Captain Montgomery replied.

Beckett's mouth dropped open. She was shocked that the captain would tell her such a thing so bluntly. "Ryan and Esposito were involved in most if not all of those cases." Montgomery continued his explanation. "They can handle going through the files. Karpowski is helping them out.

"I should have been called in." Beckett insisted but the fire had gone out a little.

"You were needed at Castle's place."

Though she hated to admit it Beckett knew the captain was right. She had needed to be with Alexis and Martha, and they needed to be with her. If she couldn't be there for Castle, she would be there for his family and had been. It was the least she could do for all the times he had been there for her.

"But why the protection detail for me?" Beckett said changing tact. She pulled up a chair close to the desk and sat down.

"Until we know who is behind the kidnapping I'm not going to take chances."

Beckett motioned in the direction of the briefing room. "You think it has something to do with one of the cases we dealt with?"

Captain Montgomery nodded his headed. "That's what my gut tells me." He added.

"So I'm stuck with the bodyguards?"

"I'm afraid so, until further notice."

Beckett shook her head to show she was not happy with that but she was not going to argue with the captain.

"There's been nothing from the kidnappers, sir." Beckett sighed.

Captain Montgomery frowned and shook his head.

They both knew that the longer the kidnappers did not make contact the more sinister was the kidnapping.

"Anything more from the El Paso PD, sir?"

Captain Montgomery shrugged his shoulders and then briefed Beckett on what he had gotten from the police down there. The El Paso PD had not gotten much more from the witnesses, conflicting reports about the descriptions of the kidnappers or what type of vehicle had been used. The police were searching for Castle but there was not much to go on.

The disappointment showed clearly on Beckett's face. She knew better than most knew how kidnappings could go wrong. That dead child from long ago still haunted her. She forced herself not to dwell on those thoughts. She did not want those nightmares to come back.

"Kate, are you all right?" Captain Montgomery asked, his voice heavy with concern.

Beckett looked across to the captain and quickly nodded her head.

"Anything from Castle's fan mail, sir?"

The captain shook his head.

The phone on Captain Montgomery's desk started started ringing.

"Montgomery." A puzzled look appeared on his face. "Who? An Agent Westfield?"

At the mention of the name Beckett immediately jumped to her feet. She motioned to the captain to send the agent up.

"Escort him to my office."

Captain Montgomery put the phone down and fixed Beckett with a questioning look.

"The guy from the Close Encounters of the Murderous Kind case." Beckett explained.

"What?"

Beckett suddenly felt embarrassed. Castle had called it that after the case had been wrapped up. For a couple of days he had been calling her Scully until she told him to stop it. She couldn't believe she had said it aloud.

"The Marie Suburow case, sir." She said hurriedly, trying to cover up her embarrassment.

"The guy from the nameless government agency?"

"Yes sir."

"Why would he be paying us a visit Detective?"

"Because I invited him." Beckett said.

The detective explained to the captain about Alexis' suggestion about tracking Castle's phone last night but getting nowhere and then having the idea of calling up Agent Westfield.

"It would have been nice if I got a heads up, detective." Captain Montgomery admonished gently.

"As would I about the bodyguards, sir."

The captain had the grace to look a little sheepish. He bowed his head slightly in a way of apology.

There was a knock on the door Montgomery and Beckett turned to find Agent Westfield standing in the doorway. He had the same lived in look on his face that Beckett remembered from his last appearance in the precinct. If she wasn't mistaken he was wearing the same black trench coat he had worn the last time. In his left hand he carried the metal brief case. His hairstyle had not changed either. He reminded her of a country music singer she had seen years ago.

"Detective Beckett." Agent Westfield said as he approached. He shook her extended hand.

"Agent Westfield."

"Captain Montgomery." The two men shook hands.

"Thank you for coming Agent Westfield." Captain Montgomery replied.

Agent Westfield nodded his head.

"Richard Castle was kidnapped a couple of nights ago and we are hoping you might be of assistance in trying to locate him." Beckett announced.

"I think I can manage that." Agent Westfield replied, a confident grin on his lips.

Agent Westfield set his brief case on the captain's desk and opened it. Beckett moved closer. Captain Montgomery came from around his desk. It took less than a minute for the computer screen to come up.

"What is Castle's phone number?"

Beckett provided it. "We tried tracking it last night but his phone was switched off.

"Then we'll have to switch it back on wont we?" Agent Westfield said grinning at Beckett.

He typed in Castle's phone number into the computer and then tapped a couple more keys.

Almost instantly a satellite map of southern Texas appeared on the screen. The next moment a red dot appeared. The agent tapped a couple more keys and the map changed zooming in on the red dot.

"He was on a book tour in southern Texas." Beckett said.

"There he is." Agent Westfield announced.

"Co-ordinates." Beckett asked anxiously.

Agent Westfield read out the co-ordinates that appeared on the right hand side of the computer screen. Beckett quickly jotted them down.

"If I'm not mistaken he's over the boarder." Captain Montgomery observed as he studied the screen.

"About a mile and a half north west of Mesita." Agent Westfield replied.

"Any chance of a live feed?" Beckett asked.

Agent Westfield nodded his head. A few more taps of the keys and the computer brought up a box in the top left hand corner of the screen. It zoomed closer to show a long warehouse.

"That's where he is." Agent Westfield said simply. "Or at least where his phone is."

"Thank you for your assistance Agent Westfield." Captain Montgomery said, once the agent had closed down the computer. The two men shook hands.

Beckett escorted the agent to the lift.

"Thank you for this." She said. "I really appreciate it."

"I'm pleased to have helped Detective Beckett."

"That makes us even."

Agent Westfield nodded his head slowly. A small smile appeared on his face. "I'll keep an eye on it and send you any further updates."

"Thank you."

The lift doors drew open and Agent Westfield stepped into the lift. He turned and looked back at the detective.

"Good luck Detective." Agent Westfield said looking serious. "You're going to need it."

The lift doors slid closed before Beckett had a chance to ask him what he meant. Frowning she turned and walked purposefully back to the captain's office.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

_He had been sitting in the dark apartment for an hour and maybe longer. He had not bothered to check his watch. He could be patient when he needed to be. The heating in the apartment which had been left on was struggling and no match for to the cold. The cold from outside had seeped through into the apartment and slowly through his trench coat. The fleece lined leather gloves he wore provided a little protection for his hands against the cold. He had his Walther PPK pistol in his right hand and had it resting on his thigh. It was cocked and ready. From where he sat at the table he had a clear view of the front door._

_Getting into the apartment had not been all that difficult. The people he had met in the corridor had given him a wide berth. A look from him and they quickly made themselves scarce. They might have mistaken him as someone from the Federal Security Service or worse some one from the Russian Mafia. He did not care. The lock on the front door of the apartment had been easy to pick. It had been child's play._

_He glanced out the window and watched the falling snow. He hated Kazan in winter. He hated Kazan at the best of times but he hated it even more during the seemingly never ending Russian winter. Just a few days ago he had been in the deserts of Bolivia. He certainly could use a holiday, he thought to himself. Somewhere warm, somewhere with endless sandy beaches, somewhere he could forget about some things._

_He studied the other the Soviet era tower block apartment buildings. A little effort had been made to brighten them up but it was like mutton dressed up as lamb. A new coat of paint could not disguise their growing decrepitude. He could not understand why no one had bothered to tear them down and start all over again. _

_His eyes dropped to the path that snaked between the apartment buildings. The path had been been recently swept of snow but it now had a light dusting of fresh snow. He spotted a couple of people hovering in the shadows trying to look inconspicuous. He saw a couple more people standing in the lobbies on the ground floor of the buildings. He was not sure if they were his people or back up provided by the Russian secret service. Either way he did not particularly care. All he cared was that they stayed out of sight. _

_From around the corner came a man and a woman. He became tense as he watched the couple. The woman was wearing a dark thick padded coat, jeans, calf length boots with high heels and fur cap to ward off the biting cold. She was holding onto the man's arm leaning into him. She laughed at something the man said. The man smiled at the joke he had made. The man was slightly taller than the woman, he had black hair and wore a heavy leather jacket and jeans, seemingly oblivious to the cold. _

_He turned his gaze away from the window and focused on the front door of the apartment. Wont be long now, he told himself. He waited patiently as the minutes slowly ticked by. He heard the clanking arrival of the elevator and voices in the corridor. He forced himself to relax._

_He closed his eyes as he heard the key being inserted into the lock. He closed his eyes to prevent the sudden blindness that would come when the lights were switched on. He heard the door open and the woman's soft lilting laugh. The lights came on._

_He opened his eyes and raised his gun pointing it at the man. The man had walked in first and saw him sitting at the table. The woman had hung up her hat and coat on the coat rack on the wall beside the front door._

"_Sit down." He said softly to the man, raising the gun higher. The man and the woman were frozen to the spot. "SIT DOWN!"_

_She stared at the man holding the gun, trying hard not to show the fear that had threatened to rise to the surface. The man holding the gun looked familiar to her. She had seen that ruggedly handsome face somewhere before. She glanced at the man standing beside her and saw the colour draining from his swarthy complexion._

"_It's ok baby." He tried to assure her. She saw the fear in his dark eyes._

_She followed her boyfriend to the couch and sat down beside him. The man with gun had risen from his chair and came to stand in front of them. The gun pointed straight at her boyfriend. The man's blue eyes slid in her direction and he looked at her._

"_You're Canadian?" He asked._

_She did not respond to his question. But she was startled by his question._

"_You work in Canadian intelligence?"_

_Again she did not respond to the question but continued to stare up at the man, trying hard not to let the shock show on her face. How did he know, she wondered to herself?_

"_It's all right." He said, the hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I know you do."_

_She almost nodded her head in answer but stopped herself in time. The man's eyes moved over to her boyfriend._

"_And knowing this man..." He said and paused. "...I would guess you would have access to some very sensitive material."_

_She lifted her head up a little at the man with the gun._

"_Material you're going to be forced to give up. His life will be threatened... And because you love him you wont hesitate."_

_She turned to look at her boyfriend. He was fidgeting in his seat and fear was deepening on his face. He dry swallowed as he stared up at the man holding the gun. She turned and looked up at the man with the gun._

_He looked at the woman again and again almost smiled._

"_That is beautiful necklace you're wearing." He said. "Did he give it to you?"_

_This time she did respond to his question. She nodded her head. Her hand reached up to the necklace, her fingers caressing it. Did the man want her necklace?_

"_I have one just like it."_

_The man with the gun opened his left fist a little and an identical necklace that the woman was wearing was suspended from his gloved fingers. She turned and looked questioningly at her boyfriend. Her boyfriend did not turn his head to look at her. He continued to stare up at the man._

"_He gave it to a friend of mine." Explained the man with the gun. "Someone close to me."_

_The woman shot a questioning look to the man standing in front of her._

"_You're name is?" He asked her._

"_C..." she paused a moment. He all ready knew that she worked for Canadian Intelligence so there were little point in telling him her cover name. He would see right through it. "Kate." she announced in a soft voice._

"_Kate." The man said and nodding his head slightly almost as if he was savouring her name. "Kate, I suggest you leave now." _

_Kate hesitated once more and again looked at the man sitting beside her. Not once had he turned to look at her. Not once had he tried to assure her that this was all some misunderstanding. _

"_Contact your people, Kate." The man with the gun continued. "Tell them to check their seals, they have a leak."_

_Betrayal rose up within her. She glared at the man sitting beside her, her luminous green eyes bore into him like lasers. Her boyfriend did not turn to look at her._

"_Kate, do it now please." The man with the gun said gently but firmly._

_Kate slowly rose from the couch. She looked at the man with the gun. He allowed a small smile of understanding to play on his lips. The smile seemed to travel all the way to those blue eyes of his._

"_Josh and I have some unfinished business to attend." He informed her._

_Kate moved carefully towards the front door. She reached for her hat and coat then opened the door. She looked back at the man standing over her now ex-boyfriend._

"_Thank you." She said as she quietly slipped out._

"_Always." He replied in a whisper._

_Once the door was closed Josh stared up at the man with the gun. He tilted his head and manufactured a sense of bravado._

"_Please make it quick, Castle." Josh said._

_The smile changed on Castle's face. In the blink of an eye all traces of warmth had faded from his expression. Lowering the gun he aimed it at Josh's chest._

_Castle emerged from the apartment building and paused in front of the door. Snow was falling lightly again promising another snow storm to come. He glanced to his right and saw the two agents standing there. Ryan and Esposito nodded to Castle as they moved past him and into the building._

_Castle's gaze was focused on the the red headed woman standing on the footpath several feet away. She was wearing a big black mink coat against the snow and cold. A thick woollen scarf was wrapped her neck. Her hands were buried in the pockets of the coat. He was a little surprised to find M standing there._

"_Is he alive?"_

"_He is." Castle replied._

_An arched eyebrow was shot was in his direction. "I'm surprised."_

_Castle shrugged his shoulders._

"_Did you find what you were looking for, dear?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Good." M replied nodding her head. "I assume you have no regrets?"_

"_I don't." He said. "What about you?"_

"_Certainly not." M said crisply. "That would be very unprofessional."_

_M looked around taking in their surrounds before returning her blue-eyed gaze back to Castle._

"_They found Mr Smith in the middle of the Bolivian desert, of all places."_

_Castle did not react to that piece of news, he just stared at M._

"_Two bullets in the back of the skull and his stomach full of motor oil." M added, studying Castle intently. "Does that mean anything to you?"_

_Castle shrugged his shoulders. "I wish I could help."_

_M had not expected an answer to that question so let that matter rest._

"_You'll be glad to know that I have sorted matters with the Americans." She announced._

_Castle nodded his head._

"_Montgomery has been promoted."_

_Castle nodded his head again. "The right people kept their jobs, then."_

"_Something like that." M agreed._

_Castle looked off into the distance for some moments before he looked at M._

"_Congratulations. You were right." He said finally._

"_About what?"_

"_About Meredith."_

_A small smile of understanding appeared on M's red lipsticked lips._

"_A mother always knows these things, dear."_

"_Mother." Castle said as he nodded his head then started to walk away._

"_Richard."_

_Castle stopped and turned to look back._

"_I need you back."_

_Castle smiled back at his mother. "I never left."_

_Castle turned and resumed walking._

_Castle gunned the engine of his Aston Martin DB9 and sped away from the parking lot. The road he drove on was clear of traffic. He hoped he would make good time on the trip to Moscow but if the snow storm came that would make the roads a little treacherous. He was not concerned about his driving skills in these conditions but he was a little concerned about the other road users. The last thing he wanted to happen was getting t-boned by some passing motorist fuelled to the eyeballs with vodka. The boffins at headquarters would have kittens if he wrecked one of their special cars to say nothing about the insurance paperwork. He pressed his foot down on the accelerator. The Aston Martin growled and instantly responded to his command._

_The city of Kazan was rapidly fading in his rear view mirror. If he never saw Kazan again it would be too soon he thought to himself. He definitely needed a long holiday after all this._

_Coming around a sloping bend in the road the headlights of his car picked up a white coloured Trabant parked on the shoulder of the road in the distance. The hood was up and someone was looking at the engine. For one single moment Castle thought about not stopping but something told him that it might be worth his while. He slowed down and pulled up beside the broken down car._

_The other driver looked up from their work to the arrival. Castle was a little amused to see the driver was Kate._

"_I knew things were a little tough in Canadian Intelligence but I would have thought they could have stretched it a little to get you a better car." Castle joked as he got out of the car._

"_Useless piece of..." Kate said angrily and kicked the side of the car. She kicked the car again and punctuated the action with a string of invective in Russian. _

_Castle looked at her wide-eyed. He knew Russian and what he had heard come out of her pretty mouth would have made a Russian sailor blush. He started chuckling._

_Hearing him laughing Kate glared at him. She was in no mood for jokes or laughter. Her night had gone from good to bad and now had reached worst. It was not enough to find out that her so called boyfriend was an enemy agent who could have ruined her career, if it had not been been for this man's timely appearance. It went without saying that she would have a lot of explaining to do to her superiors but now her car had broken down._

"_You look like someone in great need of a lift." Castle observed, a smile playing on his lips._

"_Are you offering?" She challenged._

_Castle looked up and down the road before he turned his attention to Kate._

"_I don't see anybody else around here, so I believe I am."_

"_Thank you." Kate said tersely._

"_Come my lady, your chariot awaits." He bowed and made a flourishing wave of his hand in the direction of the Aston Martin._

_Kate rolled her eyes at him. She collected her things from the broken down car and transferred them to his car and then got in. _

_For the first few miles they sat in silence. From time to time Castle would glance across to her. She caught him a couple a times smiling at him._

"_I would prefer it if you kept your eyes on the road." Kate said, breaking the silence._

"_I can do both."_

"_A multi tasking male?" Kate huffed. "That has got to be a rarity?" _

"_It is." Castle readily agreed. "I'm told that if you look up the word in the dictionary, you'll find a picture of me."_

_Kate looked over and saw him grinning at her. He waggled his eyebrows. She rolled her eyes and shook her head before looking away. She was having some trouble reconciling the man she had seen in the apartment to the one sitting beside her. The man in the apartment had frightened her but this one beside her was irritating her. One moment he was a ruthless cold blooded killer and the next he was a class clown._

"_Did you contact your people, Kate?" Castle enquired a few minutes later._

"_Yes."_

"_They were not pleased?"_

_Kate snorted."That's putting it mildly."_

"_I gather you're in deep doo doo?"_

_Kate nodded her head._

"_I wouldn't be too worried about that." Castle assured her. "I'll put in a good word for you."_

"_Oh gee thanks awfully for that." Kate said sarcastically. "I'm sure a word from you will put everything right."_

"_I'm not without some influence." Castle said._

_Kate looked at him. He stared intently at her._

"_And if that doesn't work, my boss will speak to your boss." He told her. A smile crept across his lips. "She's is quite good at putting things to right."_

"_I'm sure you give her plenty of practice."_

_It was meant as a barb but Kate was taken aback to see his smile deepen. He offered a guilty shrug of his shoulders before he turned his gaze back to the road ahead. Now it was her turn to regard him. After some moments she just shook her head and turned to look out the passenger window staring at the darkness._

"_I didn't kill Josh, if that's what you're asking." Castle announced, breaking the silence that had descended between them._

_Kate turned away from the passenger window to look at him. "I wasn't asking."_

"_I know, you weren't asking very loudly."_

"_So what's going to happen to him?"_

"_He'll be persuaded to assist us with our inquiries."_

_Kate nodded her head in understanding. She had been around long enough to know what persuaded meant._

"_So you were Corrine Veneau, French Canadian, born in Montreal..."Castle said._

"_You seem to know a lot about me." Kate interjected._

"_Not as much as I would like to." Castle replied. "Like, do you have a name to go with Kate?"_

_Kate arched her eyebrows in surprise. _

"_It's Beckett." she announced. "Kate Beckett."_

_Castle smiled as he nodded his head. "I'm very pleased to meet you Kate Beckett."_

_Castle saw that the snow was starting to fall heavier than before and the wind had picked up bringing with it more snow. It was not a night to be driving on some Russian road, not with a snow storm fast approaching. If he was travelling on his own he may have chanced the risk but he had a passenger and he wasn't about to endanger her life on a treacherous snow and ice covered Russian road._

_Pressing a button on the console of the steering wheel a head up display screen lit up on the windscreen and moments later the screen showed a GPS map. A push of another button and the screen zoomed in closer on one side of the screen there appeared a list of hotels in the immediate area._

"_What are you doing?" Kate asked, noticing him studying the head up display._

"_A snow storm is closing in. It's getting too dangerous to be driving on the roads." Castle informed her. A blinking red dot appeared on the map."Yes, we're in luck. I have a friend who has a dacha not far from here." He punched in the coordinates into the GPS. _

_Kate regarded him coolly for some moments before she spoke._

"_Is this your unsubtle way of getting me to become your latest conquest?"_

"_I was kind of hoping that I'd be yours." Castle said, glancing across to her. His face brightened a moment later. "But have it your way."_

_Suddenly Kate remembered where she had seen him before. It had been a couple of years back when she had been stationed in London. She had paid a courtesy visit to the headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service._

"_You're that certain British Secret agent who shall remain nameless?" Kate exclaimed._

"_I do actually have a name." Castle laughed. "The name is Castle...Richard Castle..."_

"The name is Castle...Richard Castle."

Castle opened his eyes to the sound of Mr Smith's laughter. Turning his head he saw Mr Smith sitting on the stool across from the cot.

"I am pleased to see that you have not forgotten your name, Mr Castle." Mr Smith chuckled.

Castle frowned at the man. Slowly he struggled up to a sitting position. He grimaced at the wave of pain that coursed through his body. He saw Mr Smith watching him carefully, an amused smile on his face. He made no move to assist him. Castle got the distinct feeling that the man enjoyed seeing other people in pain.

"To what do I the pleasure of your company, Mr Smith?"

"I was hoping we might have that talk about why you killed off your Derrick Storm?"

Castle rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He had explained his reasons why he had killed off his famous character so many times in newspapers and magazines that the subject bored him. He had gotten grief from his publisher, his publicist, his mother, not to mention countless Derrick Storm fans outraged that he had killed off their hero. Even now he still had people coming up to him or writing to him wanting to know the real reason he had killed off Derrick Storm. To his fans he gave the stock standard reply.

"Derrick Storm had run his course."

"Surely not, Mr Castle." Mr Smith scoffed. "A huge money maker like Derrick Storm?"

Castle shrugged his shoulders.

"You will forgive me when I say that I don't believe you when you say that?"

Castle regarded the other man for some moments. He was not the type to swallow the stock standard reply.

"I grew bored with Derrick." Castle confessed with a sigh. "He became too predictable, there were no surprises left. It was too much like hard work. There you have it, the real reasons why I killed off Derrick Storm. It wasn't fun anymore."

Mr Smith smiled as he nodded his head.

"That I can believe, Mr Castle." He said, smiling. "A man has to enjoy his work."

Castle could see that Mr Smith was a man who enjoyed the work he did.

"And what a way to kill him off. A bullet to the head." Mr Smith chuckled. "I was impressed."

Castle inclined his head acknowledging the other man's compliment.

"What time is it?" Castle asked suddenly.

Mr Smith started to pull up the left sleeve of his shirt. Catching himself he stopped and smiled at Castle. It was a cold humourless smile. A killer's smile. It sent a shiver down Castle's spine.

"Oh very good, Mr Castle." He said. "Very good indeed."

Castle shrugged. It had been worth a shot he had thought to himself.

It was a little thing wanting to know what time it was. From the moment they had taken his watch and incarcerated him in this cell he wanted to know what the time was. It did not matter whether it was day or night. Wanting to know the time was a small victory.

He had done enough research in the past about the methods of interrogation used on prisoners to know that taking his watch so he didn't know what the time of day was, and to keep the light on in his cell was primarily to disorientate him. To keep him off guard. Spy novels were littered with these kinds of interrogation scenes. There were such scenes in some of his books. He did not think Mr Smith usually went for this kind of thing. Without doubt he was from the school of torture of interrogation.

"And then you found yourself a new inspiration?"

Castle did not want to go there but he knew he had no choice. He could see Mr Smith waiting expectantly. Slowly Castle nodded his head.

"Yes, a very beautiful inspiration."

Castle stared at Mr Smith. He gritted his teeth not wanting to say anything that would anger the other man.

There came a sharp rap on the door followed by someone on the other side speaking in Spanish. Mr Smith turned to the closed door and responded. Castle did not understand the exchange.

Mr Smith slowly rose to his feet and smiled apologetically at Castle.

"You must excuse me Mr Castle." He announced. "There seems to be some problem which requires my immediate attention."

Castle waved a hand at the other man as if to say he understood.

"But I will return. I am most interested in hearing all about this new inspiration of yours." Mr Smith said his smile widening. "Very interested indeed."

"I am always happy to conduct a private master class." Castle quipped.

Mr Smith laughed loudly.

Castle watched as Mr Smith pushed open the cell door and departed. The door closed and he expected, it was locked. He shot an angry glare in the direction of the door. There was no way he was going to talk about that subject. At least not if he could help it.

Slowly he pushed himself off the cot and shuffled across the floor to the nearest wall. He had rested for long enough. He had enjoyed Mr Smith's _hospitality_ for long enough. The time had come for him to see if he could get himself out of here.

**I may not say it often enough but I do value your thoughts and opinions. I also appreciate receiving your suggestions. I can't promise I will use the suggestions but I can assure you I do think on them long and hard to see if I can incorporate them into the story.**

**Kindest regards**

**C.**


	14. Chapter 14

**This chapter took a lot longer than I expected. I am not completely happy with it as I would like but it is finished. Here it is.**

Chapter 14

Dr Lanie Parish was seated at her desk finishing up a preliminary report on an autopsy she had conducted earlier that morning. Not that long ago she had received a text from Esposito suggesting they grab a late lunch. There was a smile on her face. She would not have minded grabbing something else with her man but was happy enough to settle for a late lunch. She had been more than a little disappointed in not seeing him last night but she understood why he had to work back.

Lanie was startled from her work and thoughts by the sound of the double doors being abruptly pushed open. Looking up she saw the business suited man come barging in.

"What in the..." Lanie demanded angrily as she stared at the man.

"Excuse me doctor." Said Cooper as he moved into the room and looked around. "I need to check."

Lanie jumped to her feet her petite face clouding with anger at the sudden intrusion.

"Need to check what?"

She watched as the man moved into the adjoining storage room. She stared at the swinging doors speechless. She started reaching for the phone to call security but the man returned a couple of moments later.

"Thank you Doctor." Cooper said, shooting an apologetic look at the Medical Examiner. He walked to the front door and held it opened. "It's clear." he announced.

Lanie looked in the direction of the front doors and saw Kate walk in looking a little sheepish.

She nodded to Cooper as he departed from the Medical Examiner's office.

"Girl, what in the world was that?" Lanie demanded.

"Sorry about that Lanie." Kate said as she perched herself on the edge of Lanie's desk. "He's one of my protection detail."

"One of...?" The Medical Examiner eyed her friend carefully. "Has it got to do with Castle's...?"

Kate nodded her head.

Lanie's anger suddenly washed away as she looked at her friend. She remembered Esposito telling her about the detail being placed on Castle's family. She came around the desk and gave Kate a hug.

"How you holding up, honey?"

"I'm fine."

Lanie could see that her friend was anything but fine but let it slide.

"And the Castle's?"

"As well as can be expected."

Lanie broke off the embrace and smiled at Beckett.

"I heard you stayed at Writer Boy's place last night?"

Beckett rolled her eyes. "We're so not going there, ok?" She warned.

"For now." Lanie replied.

The medical examiner returned to her chair and sat down.

"Why do you need a protection detail?" Lanie asked, thumbing in the direction of the front door.

"The Captain thinks I might be in danger so he put on a detail on me."

"Danger from who?"

"Who ever kidnapped Castle, I guess." Beckett shrugged her shoulders.

Though she understood the reasoning behind it Beckett still found it hard to accept having a pair of body guards shadowing her every move. It annoyed her no end, and they had been only with her for a short time. She knew it would only get worse.

Lanie watched as her friend started to fiddle around with the desk stapler.

"Anything new on Writer Boy?"

Beckett stopped playing with the stapler and looked across to her friend. Lanie saw Beckett's face brighten a little.

"We've managed to locate Castle's cell phone." Beckett said. "He's over the border."

Beckett filled her in on what had happened in the squad room.

"That's good, right?" Lanie ventured with a smile.

"Yeah, I guess." Beckett said with a sigh.

Lanie regarded Beckett carefully. Beckett should have been happy, excited even about the news but she wasn't. She had known the detective long enough to know that something was bothering her.

"So what are you doing down here?" Lanie asked.

Beckett couldn't hold her friend's gaze, she lowered her eyes and resumed playing with the stapler. Lanie's phone interrupted the silence. Looking over Beckett saw the caller ID.

"I'll let you take that." Beckett announced as she slid off the desk.

"You ain't going nowhere, girlfriend." Lanie said in a commanding voice. She picked up her phone and killed the call.

"But Lanie that was Esposito."

"It's ok." Lanie replied. Her fingers were all ready typing out a text message. "He'll understand."

Lanie sent off the text and then set aside her phone. She turned her full attention to Beckett.

"What are you doing down here, Kate?"

Beckett had asked herself that same question the moment she had walked into Lanie's office. Maybe she needed to see a friendly face, someone on her side. She returned to the desk and leant against it. She didn't look at her friend but started to fiddle with the stapler again.

"Honey, talk to me."

Beckett looked up and frowned.

"I had a difference of opinion with the captain."

"Oh?"

Beckett recalled the scene in Captain Montgomery's office. It had taken all of her self control not to blow up at the captain. Instead she had accepted the captain's orders and then walked out of his office. She shook her head at the memory.

"He's calling in the Feds."

"They're best equipped to deal with these situations, aren't they?"

"Yes."

"So what's the problem?"

"Knowing the Feds, they wont let me work the case with them."

Lanie nodded her head in sympathy. "Is that all that's bothering you?"

Beckett shook her head.

"Go on."

Beckett moved off Lanie's desk and started to pace the floor.

"The Captain won't let me fly down to El Paso."

"Uh-huh. Why do you want to go down there?"

Beckett stopped and stared at her friend as if she had grown a second head all of a sudden.

"Lanie, this is Castle we're talking about. Beckett exclaimed.

"Uh-huh."

"I can't sit around here doing nothing." Beckett resumed her pacing.

"Uh-huh."

"I wish you'd stop it with the uh-huhs." Beckett growled.

"Ok, what are you going to do down in El Paso?"

The detective stopped her pacing and turned to face her friend.

"I'm going to find him."

"That's the Feds' job, honey."

"No it's mine."

"Why?"

"He's my partner." Beckett said forcefully.

Lanie raised an eyebrow in the direction of Beckett "Is that the only reason?"

"Isn't that enough?" Beckett said, sounding exasperated.

"But he's more than just your partner."

It was a statement, not a question. Beckett had come to realise that, however long it had taken. Castle was more than just her partner. He was the one who had stood beside her through thick and thin, who had stood beside her no matter how hard she had tried to push him away. Steadfast and resolute. He was the only one who she trusted enough to confide in, telling him things that she had not told anybody else. He was all those things and more, much more. She looked at Lanie.

"There's more isn't there?" Lanie prompted.

"Yes." Beckett said in a whisper. "I made him a promise."

A smile slowly moved across the medical examiner's face. She knew all about the promise. Esposito had told her the story about what Castle and Beckett had done for Greg McClintock and his girlfriend Amy Porter. He had also told her about the hypothetical discussion he and Castle had about him breaking out of prison leaving Castle behind. He had also told Lanie about what Beckett had said to Castle, that she'd get him out if he was ever in jail. Esposito said it had been a throwaway line but Lanie knew that it had deeper meaning. The look on Castle's face was priceless Esposito had told her. Lanie wished she had been there to witness it.

"I know, honey."

"I don't want to break that promise, Lanie."

"I understand."

"And I can't keep that promise if I'm stuck here."

"So what the hell are you doing here?" Lanie said. She rose from her chair and came around the desk to stand in front of her friend.

"Girlfriend, if it was my man down there..."

"He's not my man." Beckett interjected.

Lanie tilted her head to one side and gave Beckett a look.

"Honey, he's always been your man."

Beckett made to protest but Lanie waved a stern finger in her direction.

"Don't be giving me any denials, girlfriend because that bird don't fly with me."

Beckett let out a long frustrated sigh. "What am I going to do, Lanie?"

Lanie moved up to Beckett and put her arms around her hugging her tightly.

"I know you will think of something." She said.

The Detective wished she had her friend's confidence.

Lanie released her friend and stepped back. A smile came to her face.

"I think you need to take a few days off." Lanie announced.

"I can't take a few days off!" Beckett was shocked by her friend's suggestion. Had she not heard what she had told her? "I have to find Castle."

"I know you do, honey."

"So why suggest...?"

Lanie held up her hand which silenced the detective.

"How fast are you going to find Writer Boy if you're sitting on your tush in the squad room?"

Beckett frowned at Lanie as she weighed her friend's words.

"And if you're off sick the captain can't order you around, now can he?"

Slowly Beckett's frown dissolved as she realised what Lanie was suggesting. A smile came to her lips.

"And I can give you a doctor's certificate to make it official like." Lanie added, returning Beckett's smile.

Beckett shook her head. "I keep forgetting how devious you can get."

This time the detective pulled her friend into a tight hug.

"Anything for my girl and her man."

It was early evening when Beckett was driven back to Castle's loft. The afternoon traffic had been heavy and progress had been slow but it had given Beckett time to think. After leaving Lanie's office she had returned to the bullpen and cleared up what remaining paperwork she had sitting there. It only took her a couple of hours to get rid of it.

Before calling it a day and heading out she checked in with Esposito and Ryan as they continued to trawl through the old case files but so far the two detectives had not come up with any possibilities. She told them to go home and start on it again in the morning. Esposito and Ryan promised they would but she suspected they would continue working for a few more hours.

The car driven by Cooper pulled up at the curb at the front of the building. She still had not come up with a plan which she found frustrating. If only Castle was here, she thought to herself, he would have had a handful of plans at the ready, all of them outrageous. The smile that came to her lips when she thought of him slowly faded when she realised that he wasn't here to help. She would have to do this on her own. She let out a sigh of frustration at the thought.

George got out of the car and opened the door for her. Beckett slowly got out of the back seat. She heard the loud gun shot sound and started to react, reaching for her gun. She didn't get the chance. The next thing she knew was she was laying on the ground pressed against the side of the car as George covered her. He had his gun drawn and looking about to find where the shot had come from.

"Shot fired, shot fired."

Beckett struggled to get up but her bodyguard held her down. She heard a multitude of voices chattering over the radio. Then she heard someone announce that it had not been a gun shot. It was a car back-firing.

"Stand down." George announced. He looked down at Beckett. "Sorry about that Detective."

Beckett nodded her head in understanding. George helped Beckett to her feet and held onto her arm. She noticed that he had not holstered his gun. Cooper took his position on the other side of her. All three hurriedly made their way into Castle's building. Once safe indoors did the two bodyguards relax a little.

Entering the loft Beckett found Sergeant Mavros standing beside at the kitchen island gun drawn and at his side. Alexis and Martha were standing on the other side of the island with another bodyguard standing beside them. The two Castle women looked terrified. Beckett took a quick look around and realised what had happened. Martha and Alexis were sitting down watching television when the bodyguards had heard the back-firing and they hustled the women away from the windows.

Beckett ignored the bodyguards and walked quickly, practically ran over to the kitchen.

"Kate are you all right?" Alexis asked as threw her arms around Beckett.

"I'm fine." Beckett assured her. "It was just a car back firing, that's all."

Beckett released Alexis and looked to the older woman. Martha looked pale behind her make up but she forced a smile to her face. Beckett reached out and put a comforting hand on her arm.

"I know I say that I want a bit of excitement in my life but this..." She waved her hand in the direction of the two bodyguards.

Beckett smiled and nodded her head. "I guess we're all a little jumpy at the moment."

"We'll be outside Detective Beckett." Sergeant Mavros announced.

Beckett gave him a nod.

"I could use a drink." Martha announced.

"So could I." Beckett agreed.

The older woman moved over to a cupboard and pulled out a bottle of red and two glasses.

"Well I'll get dinner ready." Alexis announced. "How does pasta sound?"

"Sounds good." Martha and Beckett said in unison. They started laughing.

Beckett found herself in Castle's study. She was seated at his desk, reclining in the chair and gazing across to the window at the city lights. The lights of the study were muted. Alexis had excused herself and gone upstairs to do homework. Martha had stayed a little while longer talking before calling it a night leaving her alone.

There was not much on television and she did not want to watch it by herself so she had left the living room and wandered into Castle's study in the hope of finding a book to read from the vast collection that lined the bookshelves. She had selected a book and had sat down but she had barely been able to go past the first page. Try as she might she found it hard to concentrate on the book. Finally she gave up and put it aside.

She had been sitting here for the past hour or more deep in thought. She had no idea idea what she would do once she got down to Texas. But first she had to get there. She reached for Castle's laptop and switched it on.

A smile came to her lips when the password box popped up. She couldn't help but shake her head as she typed in her name. She brought up the web browser and then called up one of the airline sites. She searched for flights to El Paso and frowned when she found most of them were booked up and those that weren't were on the expensive side. Her credit card would take a bit of a beating but she did not care about that now.

"Hey Kate what are you doing?" Alexis enquired as she walked into the study.

"I thought you had gone to bed?" Beckett looked up from the computer.

"I couldn't sleep."

Alexis came around the desk.

"Are you planning to go somewhere?"

Beckett bit on her lower lip realising that she had not spoken to the young girl about her leaving to go down to El Paso to find her father.

"Alexis I have to go down to El Paso." She said in a low voice. "I can't sit here doing nothing."

"You said that Captain Montgomery had called in the FBI."

"Yes."

"But you still need to go there?"

Beckett looked up at Alexis and nodded her head. She could not help but feel a little guilty at leaving the girl and her grandmother. They would be pretty safe here in the loft protected by Sergeant Mavros and his people she told herself but still she felt guilty.

Alexis suddenly smiled down at the detective. "You don't need to explain, I understand."

The redhead's eyes turned to the computer screen. She reached down and shut down the screen.

"What are you doing, Alexis?" Beckett asked surprised by Alexis' action.

"I have a better idea, Kate." Alexis replied. "Hand me your phone, please?"

Beckett gave Alexis a curious look but passed over her phone. The girl keyed in a number before looking at Beckett.

"Dad would kill me if he learned that I had let you use your own money to buy a plane ticket."

"Alexis it's all right." Beckett protested. She started to rise from her chair but Alexis moved out of range.

"Alexis give me my phone back."

"Hello...this is Alexis Castle." The red head said speaking to the phone. "Sorry to call you so late but my dad asked me to give you call...could you organise a ticket to El Paso for tomorrow...the most direct route...yes...time?" Alexis paused and looked over to Beckett. The Detective gave the red head a shrug of her shoulders. "How about around midday? Great...yes business class."

"Alexis." Beckett hissed. Alexis waved off the protest.

"That's great. The ticket is for Kate Beckett...yes that's right...on dad's account yes...thank you so much."

Alexis disconnected the call and beamed at Beckett. "The travel agent guy will have the ticket couriered over in the morning."

"Your dad has a travel agent guy?" Beckett said.

"Dad has a guy everywhere." Alexis replied. She came back to the desk and handed over the phone.

Beckett was suddenly lost in thought. From the mists of time something came back to her.

"_When are you going to realise I have a guy everywhere?"_

"Kate are you with me?" Alexis said sounding worried.

Beckett smiled up at a worried looking Alexis. She reached out and pulled the girl into a hug.

"Thank you Alexis."

"For what?" Alexis looked confused.

"For giving me an idea."

Beckett released the girl and turned her attention to the computer. She called up Castle's contacts file and started to search through the list. Eventually she found what she was looking for.

"Mr Melon Baller?" Alexis said.

"It was an icescream scoop actually." Beckett said absently.

"Huh?"

"I'll explain later."

Beckett punched the number into her phone and waited for the call to be answered. She got an answer machine.

"Thai food is pleasing to the tongue."

"What was that, Kate?" Alexis was now looking really confused. She expected this sort of thing her from her father and was used to it. She definitely did not want to see it from a woman she admired and looked up to.

"That was a code." Beckett explained. She rose from her chair and put her arm around the confused girl. "The call was to your dad's contact in the CIA."

"The CIA?"

"I think they might be able to help find your dad."

"Do you think so?" A hopeful look brimming in her blue eyes.

"That's what I'm hoping." Beckett replied. "Come on time for bed."

The two women walked out of the study.

**I would very much like to hear what you think about this chapter. As usual I appreciate all your reviews and thoughts.**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

_As he waited in the holding cell for the marshals to come and take him to the waiting prison van Castle could not help but think back to that night when he first met her. Little did he know at the time that she would change his life for ever. A smile blossomed on his face as his thoughts wandered back to that fateful night... _

_...He had crawled through the muck of the tunnel following his fellow escapees as they made their way under the prison fence to the freedom that lay beyond. His companions had not seen him change into the prison guard uniform that he had acquired. He also put on a prison guard baseball cap before going into the tunnel._

_Castle could hear the loud jarring siren announcing the prison break. Moments later he heard a volley of gunshots. He shuddered at the sound, hoping that his companions had managed to escape the hail of bullets. Though he did not like them much he did not want to see them shot dead. He heard more shots. He resumed crawling making his way to the hole, and to freedom silently hoping that he did not have to face bullets as well._

_Reaching the hole he stood up and popped his head above ground. He did not get the chance to savour the taste of freedom. At that moment a pair of prison guards were standing near the hole their weapons partly trained on him. They lowered their weapons when they saw he was a guard._

"_What the hell are you standing around here for?" Castle shouted. "The others are making their escape through the orange grove."_

"_Right." One of the guards muttered and both guards set off at a trot in the direction of the orange grove._

_Castle hauled himself out of the hole. He pulled the peek of the cap lower and he stared in the direction where the guards were running, trying look for all the world as if he was a prison guard. As the large search light swept across the ground Castle spotted two bodies laying on the ground. A frown creases his face for a moment or two. He didn't need to go over and inspect them to know they were dead._

_Letting a low sigh he turned and started walking purposefully to where the cars are. He saw Esposito waving to him. A wave he didn't return because he spotted someone else standing there. This person was holding a shotgun._

"_It's okay, honey, we're good guys." Espostio said._

"_What are you doing here?" The woman demanded. She glanced around to see Castle approaching quickly._

_At that moment Esposito moved and grabbed her around the neck. The woman jabbed him with the butt of her shotgun fighting him off. Castle reached her and wrenched the shotgun from her grasp. Esposito dragged the woman to the back of her car where the trunk lid is still up when she had extracted the shotgun realising she was witnessing a prison break. He forced her to sit down on the edge._

_Castle ignored her for a moment. He looked back to the fence and saw several more guards running along the fence heading in the direction of the orange grove._

"_I don't think they'll be sending out any more guards." Castle remarked. "Otherwise they wont have anyone to mind the store."_

"_Why don't we talk about it later, bro?" Esposito said, trying not to sound or look nervous._

_Castle turned and looked at the woman properly. In the lights of Esposito's car Castle he was taken aback at what he saw. A pair of luminous green eyes held his gaze, they were defiant and unafraid. Castle allowed a small smile to play at the edges of his mouth. He liked what he saw._

"_Why you're only a girl." Castle remarked. "What do you do for a living that you have to pack a shotgun?"_

"_I'm a Federal Marshal and you are under arrest. The both of you."_

_Castle regarded her with an amused smile. He liked her spunk, he liked that she was not afraid even though she was outnumbered._

"_I bet I smell, don't I?" Castle said. "Listen, why don't you hop into the trunk and we'll get out of here?"_

_She glared up at him. He seemed so cocky, so self assured. She got to her feet and climbed into the trunk searching for her pistol that she had left in there when she had taken out the shotgun. Suddenly he shoved her into the trunk and climbs in as well. She let out a gasp of surprise as she is wedged against the wall of the trunk. He pressed against her back and held her so that she had no chance to move. She half expects him to start pawing her but the arm around her doesn't move. That surprises her a little._

_Esposito glared down at Castle and shook his head before he closed the trunk lid and plunging the trunk into total darkness. A moment later he jumped into the car, started it up and slowly moved off._

"_You comfy?" Castle inquired._

"_I could use a little room."_

"_There isn't any what with all the crap you got in here." Castle said. "What is all this stuff anyway? Handcuffs, chains...what's this can?" His free hand had found a can as it was moving about._

"_It's for your breath." She said. "You could use it. Squirt some in your mouth."_

_Castle chuckled. "You vixen, it's mace, huh? What've got here a billy? Use it on poor unfortunate offenders, eh?" _

_She didn't reply._

_Castle's hand continued to blindly search the trunk. It wrapped itself around a long cylindrical object. The trunk is suddenly bathed in light as he switched on the flashlight. He played the beam along her leg. He regarded her carefully._

"_So where's your gun, your pistol?" He asked her._

"_In my bag, in the car."_

"_Uh-huh."_

_The car went over a couple of bumps jostling them. His free hand moves slowly up and down her thigh looking for the gun. _

"_You know you don't have a chance of making it. Guards are out here already, they'll stop the car." She tells him, his hand is gentle as it moved up and down her leg. Despite herself she finds she likes the way his hand is moving._

"_They're off in the orange grove chasing the other escapees. I timed it to slip between the cracks, you might say."_

_She rolled her eyes at his chuckle._

_Her rapidly beating heart sinks when she feels the car accelerating. She had been hoping that the guards would stop the car but instead of stopping the car was speeding away from the prison. _

_Castle wiped some of the muck from his face and looked at the woman beside him._

"_Boy, it stunk in that tunnel."_

"_I believe it." She told him. "You've ruined a nine hundred dollar suit my dad gave me."_

"_Yeah it went real well that twelve gauge, too." He replied sarcastically. "Nice accessory."_

_Despite himself he was finding he liked this woman. He was besotted with her green eyes. He loved the smell of cherries in her hair. He could lay there all night smelling her hair._

"_So tell me, why in the world would someone like you ever become a federal marshal?"_

"_The idea of going after guys like you appealed to me."_

"_Guys like me, huh?" Castle said with a laugh. "Well, listen, even though I have been celibate lately, I'm not gonna force myself on you. I've never done that in my life." He frowned at himself, wondering why he had said that to her._

"_Well you wouldn't have time anyway." She retorted. "We come to a roadblock, they'll run the car, and in five seconds they find out who it belongs to."_

"_Yeah if they get set up in time, which I doubt. And even if they do they'll be looking for a bunch of black guys, not some Latino."_

"_Must be quite a pal, risking his backside like this?" She said._

"_Who Javier? Yeah he's a good guy. Back when we jailed together, he'd call his wife every week without fail. She's a born again, you know, Javier calls her up, confesses his sins, tells her about whatever bank he happened to rob." Castle said._

"_Javier, that's his given name?" She asked, smiling to herself._

_Castle made a face as he silent cursed himself for telling her Esposito's name. "Yeah, well that's the name I gave him." He added hurriedly, trying to cover his mistake._

_The car slowed down and went over a couple more bumps jostling the occupants of the trunk. It picked up speed again._

"_So what's your name?" She asked. "It'll be in the papers tomorrow anyway."_

"_Richard Castle. But most people call me Rick." Castle answered. A grin came to his lips."Perhaps you've heard of me?"_

"_Why, are you famous?" She retorted._

_Castle raised his head to look at her. He couldn't help but smile. She could hold her own, he thought to himself. She gave as good as she got._

"_The time I was convicted in California, the FBI told me I'd robbed more banks than anyone in the computer." A note of pride in his voice._

"_How many was that, Rick?"_

"_To tell you the truth, I don't know." He said. "I started when I was eighteen, driving for my Uncle and his partner, Gus. They go into this bank one time in Slidell. Gus jumps the counter to get to the tellers, trips, falls and breaks his leg. All three of us ended up in Angola."_

"_That's funny." She said with a laugh. _

_Castle's smile returned to his face at the sound of her laughter._

"_Well, I thought so too."_

"_If it was me I would have left Ol' Gus on the floor."_

_Castle regarded her for a moment. "I believe you would have." He said. "Anyway, another fall I did a seven stretch at Lompoc. And I don't mean the place next door where some of Nixon's people went."_

"_I know the difference. You were in Lompoc USP, the federal penitentiary. I've delivered people there. So basically you've spent half your life in prison."_

"_Basically, yeah." Castle said with a sigh. "If I go back now I'm facing a 30 year stretch, no time off. Can you imagine looking at that?"_

"_I don't have to." She replied. "I don't rob banks." _

_Castle let out a soft chuckle._

"_So do you have a name?" He asked._

"_My name's Kate."_

_Castle ran the beam of the flashlight along the length of her body, a smile playing on his lips._

"_You don't seem all that scared, Kate." He observed, bringing the beam up to her head._

"_Of course I am." Kate shot back._

"_You don't act like it."_

_Kate turned her head so that she could look at him._

"_What do you want me to do? Scream?" Kate asked. "I don't think it would help much."_

_Kate turned back. "Nah, I'm going to sit back, take it easy, and wait for you to screw up."_

"_Sheesh, you sound like my ex-wife." Castle exclaimed._

_Kate turned back to look at him, she could not keep the surprise from her face._

"_You were married, All those falls?" Kate said. Her lips slowly curved into the beginning of a smile. "I'm surprised you had the time."_

"_It was just a year, give or take a few days." Castle shrugged. "I mean, it's not like we didn't get along or anything. We had fun..." Castle's voice trailed off as he gathered his thoughts. He spoke again. "We just didn't have that...that thing, you know? That spark, you know what I mean? You got to have that."_

_Kate nodded her head slowly. After a moment or two she turned away from him, losing herself in her thoughts._

"_We still talk though." Castle added._

_Kate turned her to look at him again._

"_You know Rick, this isn't going to end well. These things never do."_

_Castle shrugged. "Yeah, well, if it turns out I get shot like a dog, I'd rather it be in the middle of the street rather than on some damn prison fence."_

"_You must see yourself as some kind of Clyde Barrow." Kate remarked._

_Castle grinned back at her. "Bonnie and Clyde. Hmmm. You ever see pictures of him, the way he wore his hat? You could tell he had that don't-give-a-damn air about him."_

"_I don't recall his hat. But I've seen pictures of him laying dead, shot by the Texas Rangers. Did you know he didn't have his shoes on?"_

_That piece of news surprised him. "Is that right?"_

"_Yeah. They put a hundred and eighty-seven bullet holes in Clyde, Bonnie Parker and the car they were driving." Kate added. "Bonnie was eating a sandwich."_

"_You're full of interesting facts aren't you?"_

"_It was May 1934, near Gibsland, Louisiana."_

"_Remember the scene where in the movie Waren Beatty and Faye Dunaway get shot?" Castle ventured breaking the silence._

"_What about it?"_

"_I remember thinking at the time, it wouldn't be a bad way to go, if you have to."_

"_What, bleeding all over a country road?"_

"_I know it's not pretty after, no but if you were in the car eating a sandwich, you wouldn't know what hit you."_

"_I can think of better ways to go and getting shot up is nowhere near the top of the list." Kate told him._

"_You know, you're sure easy to talk to. I was wondering...say we met under different circumstances and got to talking, say you were in a bar and I came up to you...I wonder what would happen?"_

"_Nothing." Kate said a little too sharply than she intended._

"_I mean if you didn't know who I was."_

"_You'd probably tell me."_

"_I'm just saying I think if we met under different circumstances..."_

"_You have got to be kidding me, Rick." Kate rolled her eyes and shook her head at him._

_He gave her a little pout and punctuated it with a slight shrug of his shoulders. He returned to talking movies._

"_Another Faye Dunaway film I liked was Three Days Of The Condor."_

"_With Robert Redford when he was young?"_

"_That's the one."_

_They both felt the car starting to slow down._

"_I never thought it made sense, though."_

"_What?"_

"_They way the get together so quickly."_

"_Really?"_

"_I mean, romantically."_

"_Uh-huh" Castle said. "You never know about these things until they happen to you."_

_They ceased talking when the car came to a complete stop. Castle switched off the flashlight plunging the trunk into darkness again. A car door opened and footsteps came round to the back._

"_Yo, you still alive in there, Bro?" Esposito called out._

_He opened the trunk lid and found Castle and Kate laying there. The moment the lid opened Castle got out. Kate remained motionless, watching Castle._

"_Where the hell are we Javier?" Castle asked looking around taking in his surrounds._

"_That's the turnpike up there." Esposito pointed to his right. "Ryan's waiting with the other car."_

_Castle nodded his head and started to turn to look at Kate. "You can come out now honey."_

_Kate moved into action. She sat up and brought up her pistol to hold it in both hands and pointing it at them._

"_Get your hands ups and turn around, Now!" She ordered._

"_Damn it." Castle muttered to himself. _

_Instantly he brought the trunk lid down on her. Castle and Esposito moved away from the car. A volley of shots exploded from within the trunk. Cautiously they return to the back of the car._

"_Go get the shotgun." Castle said in a low voice. _

_Esposito nodded his head and went to the front of the car returning a moment later holding the shot gun._

"_We may as well leave her, we're leaving the car, and we gotta leave her somewhere anyway. What's the difference if we leave her here, bro?"_

"_She's coming with us Javier."_

_Esposito fixed his friend with a bewildered look. "What the hell were you doing in there, man?"_

"_Just talking, that's all."_

"_Her name is Kate Beckett and she is a federal marshal, man." Esposito said in a stern tone of voice. "We can't be riding around with a marshal held hostage."_

"_Don't worry about it."_

"_That's easy for you to say, bro." Esposito said with a sigh. "You know I gotta tell Lanie about this."_

"_I know." Castle replied. A grin leaped to his face. "Perhaps if you could hold off telling your wife for a little while?"_

"_Okay man."_

_Castle approached the trunk from the side._

"_Kate, you be a good girl now, you hear?" Castle said. "Now I'm going to open the..."_

_He didn't get the chance to finish the sentence. He jumped sideways as another volley of shots were fired from within the trunk of the car. When she had finished firing Castle slowly approached the car._

"_You're putting holes in your car, Kate." Castle pointed out._

_A look of relief swept across his face when she did not respond with another volley of shots._

"_We're not leaving you. I'm going to open the trunk enough for you to throw the gun out, okay? You shoot and Esposito here is holding your shotgun and he's going to shoot back and I can't stop him. So it's up to you, Kate."_

_Castle slowly moved towards the trunk where the key was hanging from the keyhole._

"_Hey guys." A voice called out._

_Both Castle and Esposito turned around in the direction of where the voice came from. Approaching them was a short blonde haired man wearing dark sunglasses._

"_Hey, guys it's me Kevin." said Kevin Ryan. "It's great to see you again Castle. What the hell were you guys shooting at anyway?"_

_Castle shot Esposito a look. "Do we really need him?"_

_Esposito shrugged his shoulders._

"_The cop cars saw us as they passed by, only needs one of them to start thinking, hey what the hell is the car doing there, and ties it to the breakout..."_

_Castle nodded his head in understanding. His face brightens as he looked over to Ryan._

"_Hey Ryan. We thought you were somebody else."_

"_So what's going on?" Ryan asked._

"_Nothing." Castle said innocently. He turned back to the car trunk. "You coming out Kate?"_

_Esposito moved closer to the car and cocked the shotgun._

"_You hear that, Kate?"_

_Castle turned the key and slowly opened up the lid. Kate was laying on the floor of the trunk. She lifted up her arm holding the gun by the barrel._

"_Okay Rick, you win." She said._

"_Rick?" Esposito shot his partner a look._

_Castle passed the gun over to Esposito and then helped Kate to get out of the car. A grin appeared on his face._

"_Have your clothes cleaned and send me the bill." He told her. He held onto her hand longer than was necessary but she did not seem to mind._

"_I'll be sure to send it to you at Glades." Kate retorted. He laughed at that._

_Castle didn't want to entrust her to Ryan but he realised he didn't have much choice. After putting her in the backseat of Ryan's car he watched as they drove off._

"_What's with Ryan and the sunglasses?" Castle asked._

"_Didn't want anyone to recognise him." Esposito remarked dryly._

_The men looked at each other and shook their heads. Without word they got into Kate's car and drove off..._

_...Castle's smile deepened as he remembered that night in the hotel. The smile suddenly vanished as he recalled the following night. The night at Ripley's mansion. She had shot him. Kate had actually shot him in the leg. Boy did that hurt like you wouldn't believe._

_He was dragged from his reveries when the marshal approached his cell._

"_Time to go Castle, your carriage awaits." The marshal announced._

_Castle slowly stood up. The marshal opened the cell door and walked in. Castle held out his hands together to allow the marshal to cuff him. With a hand on his arm the marshal led him out of the cell. Following them was a second marshal. Castle still had a limp a legacy of the gunshot to the leg. Something to remember Kate by._

_They emerged into the court yard where the black government van was waiting. The marshal helped Castle into the back. Castle sat down on the bench and stared down at the floor._

"_I'll go get the other one now." The marshal said to his partner as he closed the door._

_Castle could not help but feel depressed. The one thing he feared was happening. He was looking at a thirty year stretch with no parole. He heard the front door open but he didn't bother to look up._

"_Hey, Rick." Kate called out._

_Castle looked up in surprise to see her face gazing at him through the steel grill. He could see she was wearing her hair in a pony tail but he much preferred to see her hair unbound, like that night in the hotel._

"_I got you a present, Rick." Kate announced._

_Castle moved close to the grill and accepted the Zippo lighter she pushed through. He smiled at her and nodded his thanks. _

"_I have to take it back after the ride though."_

_He opened his mouth to say something but the backdoor was opened. Another prisoner climbed into the back. He is tall and black with a shaved head and a stern look on his moustached face. He sits down opposite Castle. Castle feels a little annoyed at the intrusion._

"_Richard Castle meet Hejira Montgomery." The marshal said making the introductions._

_The rear door was closed and locked. Castle continues to look at the man._

"_Hejira what kind of name is that?" Castle asked, suddenly curious._

"_Islamic." Mongomery replied, shooting a glance at Castle._

"_What's it mean, 'no hair'?" Castle grinned._

"_The Hejira was the flight of Mohammed from Mecca in 622."_

"_The flight?"_

"_The brothers in Leavenworth gave me the name."_

"_You were at Leavenworth, huh?"_

"_For a time."_

"_Meaning?"_

"_Meaning time came I left."_

"_You busted out?" Castle was impressed._

_Montgomery looked over to Castle, the stern look had slowly faded. "I prefer to call it an exodus from an undesirable place."_

_Castle grinned at the other man. He was starting to like this man._

"_So how long was it before they caught up with you?" Castle inquired._

"_That time?_

"_There were others?" Castle was astonished._

"_Yeah. That was the ninth." Montgomery informed him with a hint of pride in his eyes._

"_The ninth?"_

"_Ten if you count the time I walked out from the prison hospital in Ohio."_

"_You must be some kind of walker Montgomery." Castle chuckled._

"_Hejira." Montgomery corrected him._

"_Hejira." Castle said. "So you're off to New York, huh?"_

"_Apparently I was supposed to leave last night with the lady marshal but for some reason she wanted to wait." Montgomery explained._

_Castle started to grin. He turned and looked at Kate. He waggled his eyebrows at her. She rolled her eyes back at him. "She did, huh?" he mused aloud._

"_It's probably much cheaper to take us both in the one van, I guess."_

"_Could be." Castle nodded his head. "Or maybe she thought we'd have a lot to talk about."_

_Montgomery focused his gaze on the other man._

"_Like what?"_

_Castle continued to smile but he shrugged his shoulders. "Oh I don't know." He glanced at Kate who was still looking at him through the grill. "It's a long way to New York. I'm sure we can find some mutually agreeable subject to talk about."_

Castle fluttered his eyes open. He lay there on the cot for some moments as the remnants of the dream slowly faded away from his conscious grasp. For some moments he remained still and then with a sigh he looked across the cell. There was no plate of food left for him he discovered.

He found that a little odd. Could his captors have forgotten to bring him his food, he wondered? Or had he not been asleep for all that long? What frustrated him the most was that he had no idea how long he had been asleep.

He had to tell himself not to worry about what time it was. There was nothing he could do about it so it was a waste of time to worry about something he had no control over.

He turned his head to face the wall. He began to study the bricks. He may not have been an expert bricklayer but even he could see that the bricks had been laid in a slipshod manner. In some parts too much mortar had been used and in other not enough. In some sections there were noticeable gaps.

He reached out and ran his fingers along the bricks and in particular across the mortar. The mortar felt course under his finger tips. Applying a little more pressure the mortar started to crumble under his fingers. He scraped harder on the mortar and more of it crumbled away.

A smile leaped to his face as he continued to scrape at the mortar. After a few minutes he stopped as he came to realise that he wouldn't get too far just using his fingers. He had to find a tool to use.

Slowly and carefully he sat up in the cot. He winced at the sharp pain in his chest but he fought it back, his mind turning over. Scanning the cell he couldn't see anything that he could use as tool, it was bare. His captors had not even bothered to provide him with a spoon or a fork to use when he ate.

He ran his hand through his hair as he tried to think. Nothing came to him. He let out a sigh as he dropped his hand to his belt. He looked down at his belt. Suddenly the smile returned to his face. Quickly he unbuckled the belt and pulled it from his trousers.

It him a lot longer to removed the long thin tongue-like needle from the buckle. He had to had to twist it back and forth countless times until it broke from the buckle. He almost let out a cry of delight when he had finally broke it off. It was about two inches long and just right for what he needed.

"I think I'll call you Hejira." He chuckled.

Castle moved closer to the wall. He paused and looked over to the door. He did not want Mr Smith or any of his other captors making an unwanted entrance as he got started. He would have to keep an ear open for the door just in case, he reminded himself.

He turned back to the wall and studied it for a moment. He selected a spot that was a couple of inches above the cot and in a spot that he could hide with his body should his captors come into the cell. Holding the needle in his hand he brought it up the mortar and began to scrape it slowly and carefully. The steel needle dug easily into the dry mortar, making it crumble onto the bed. He continued to scrape away, digging deeper and deeper.

Castle could hardly contain his joy as he continued to dig deeper into the mortar.

"Macgyver would be proud of me if he saw this." Castle said with a chuckle as he continued his work.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Kate had a restless night's sleep. She had tossed and turned all night long and try as she might sleep had been elusive. Keeping her awake for most of the night were all manner of thoughts passing through her head. Most of those thoughts had centred on one man. Her one greatest fear was that she would fail him. When he needed her the most she would fail him. No matter how hard she pushed that thought from her mind it always came skulking back every time.

Finally giving up the battle to try and get some sleep she let out a long frustrated sigh, threw aside the blankets and hauled herself out of bed. She felt tired and a glance in the mirror showed her she looked even worse. Reaching over to the nightstand she picked up her phone and checked the time. It was six-thirty. She next checked her messages before returning the phone back on the night stand.

Leaving the master bedroom Kate quietly walked along the corridor not wanting to wake Alexis or Martha. Something told her that Castle's mother and daughter probably would not have gotten much sleep either. She made her way downstairs. Half way down the stairs a yawn escaped from her mouth. She hurried down the stairs in desperate need of some strong coffee to give her the kick start to the morning that she needed.

She rubbed what little sleep from her eyes as she padded in the direction of the kitchen. The living room was bathed in soft muted light from a couple of lights that had been left on overnight. The curtains had been drawn but the early morning light was filtering through underneath the curtains.

"Good morning Detective Beckett." A voice said.

Kate let out a startled yelp as she spun in the direction of the living room where the voice had come from. Her hand instinctively reached to her hip where her service weapon was usually holstered. She saw the short non-descript man dressed in an expensive grey business suit put down the book he had been reading and rise from the armchair he had been sitting in.

"A..Agent Grey." Kate said, slowly calming down.

Kate looked in the direction of the front door and then back at the agent. She frowned at him.

"How...how did you get in?"

The agent gave Kate a pointed look but did not respond to her question as if it was irrelevant.

"How long have you been here?" She demanded. She did not feel comfortable that he had been able to slip past the guards at the door.

"Not long, Detective Beckett."

Agent Grey walked over to where Kate was standing and held out his hand.

"Thank you for coming." Kate said, shaking his hand.

"I took the liberty of putting on the coffee for you Detective." Agent Grey said as he nodded in the direction of the kitchen.

An almost grateful look appeared on Kate's face as she turned and headed into the kitchen. Agent Grey followed her. Kate opened a cupboard and took out a large coffee mug. She moved across to the coffee machine and poured herself a cup of coffee. Remembering the visitor she glanced across to Agent Grey and silently offered him a cup. He declined the offer with a shake of his head.

"Thank you for coming, Agent Grey." Kate repeated. She perched herself on a stool by the counter.

"You have all ready said that." Agent Grey replied crisply. He sat on a stool and looked at Kate. "How may be of service Detective Beckett?"

Kate took a big sip from the mug and for a moment she closed her eyes savouring the strong caffeine hit. Slowly she set the mug down on the counter and looked over to the agent.

"I need your help."

"With finding Castle?"

Kate stared wide-eyed at the agent. She opened her mouth to say something but closed it immediately. How did he know about Castle's kidnapping, she wondered. She pushed the thought from her mind. The guy was in the CIA after all. Perhaps it was better she didn't know. She answered his question with a nod of her head.

"What can you tell me Detective Beckett?"

It did not take long for the detective to brief the CIA agent all that she knew. He listened in silence only nodding his head once or twice.

"And the captain has called in the FBI." Kate said with a sigh as she finished her briefing.

Agent Grey's face twitched with a slight sneer at the mention of the rival three-letter government agency. His anger vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

"Can you help?" Kate asked expectantly.

"The FBI will have to liaise with the Federales in Mexico." Agent Grey responded with a contemptuous look on his face. "Some of them are trust worthy I suppose..."

"Agent Grey can you help?"

"It would be against regulations."

Kate's heart sank when she heard those words. The expectant look on her face slowly transformed into one of deep disappointment.

"Well I'll just have to go down there by myself and see what I can do." She muttered unhappily. She looked at the agent and forced a smile to her face. "Thank you for coming Agent Grey, and sorry to have dragged you here for nothing."

"One moment Detective Beckett." Agent Grey said. "I didn't say I wouldn't help. I just said that it would be against regulations."

Kate blinked as she looked at the agent.

"Wont you get into trouble?" Kate ventured.

Agent Grey's face broke into a small smile. "Under normal circumstances that would be true, Detective Beckett. However, it helps that our Director is a big of fan of Castle's books and in this instance I am certain he could be persuaded to turn a blind eye to the bending of the regulations."

Kate couldn't help but smile at the short man sitting across from her.

Agent Grey reached inside his jacket and removed a small black spiral notepad and pen. Opening the pad to a fresh page he quickly scribbled down a phone number. He tore out the page and slid it across the counter to Kate. She picked it up and looked at the page.

"When you arrive in El Paso call that number." Agent Grey told her. "And say that Derrick Storm needs his help."

Kate nodded her head. "That's it?"

"Were you expecting more, Detective Beckett?"

"As a matter of fact, yes I was, Agent Grey."

An amused look appeared on the man's face. "You will receive your instructions in due course, Detective Beckett. "

"So cloak and dagger." Kate mused aloud.

Agent Grey shrugged his shoulders.

Kate looked at the telephone number on the paper as she drained her coffee.

"Should I memorise the telephone number?" She asked.

"That wont be necessary, Detective. Just don't lose it."

Kate nodded her understanding. "Thank you, Agent Grey." She said, deeply grateful to the man. "I can't begin to thank you."

Agent Grey nodded his head and smiled. Kate returned his smile. Seeing her mug was empty she got off the stool and walked around the counter to the coffee machine for a refill.

"Are you sure I can't get you a cup of coffee?" She said.

"Normally I don't drink coffee but I think I could use a cup this morning, Kate."

Kate almost dropped the cup she was holding when she heard Alexis reply. Turning around she saw the young red head standing by the kitchen counter. There was no sign of Agent Grey. Putting her mug on the counter she rushed around the counter to stand beside Alexis looking to her left and right. Agent Grey was nowhere to be seen.

"Kate are you all right?" Alexis asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Kate could only shake her head in disbelief. Agent Grey had done it again, he had vanished into thin air just like the last time back in the break room at the precinct. How did he do that? CIA or not she would have loved to know how he did that.

"Who were you talking to?" Alexis asked. "I head you talking to some one as I was coming down the stairs."

Kate turned to Alexis and gave the girl a smile.

"I was talking to your dad's guy in the CIA." Kate explained. She moved back to the counter and picked up her coffee mug and took a big sip from it. Setting the mug down she picked up the notepad page.

"He was here? Mr Mellon Baller?"

The older woman nodded her head.

"I didn't see anyone else here."

"Believe me he was here Lexi."

"And is he going to help?"

"Yes, he's going to help."

Alexis smiled at Kate as she threw her arms around the older woman and pulled her into a big hug. Kate could not help but smile.

As comforting as the hug was Kate slowly disengaged herself from Alexis.

"I'm going to take a shower." Kate announced.

The detective was half way out of the kitchen when she stopped suddenly. She turned around to look at the young girl.

"I just suddenly realised I don't have a change of clothes."

"Oh..."

"Could you do me a big favour, Lexi?"

"Sure, anything." Alexis said eagerly.

"Could you call Lanie and ask her to go over to my place and pack an overnight bag for me and bring it over here?"

"On it, Kate."

"Thanks Lexi."

Kate resumed walking from the kitchen. "And if you can think of a way of getting out of here without the bodyguards finding out that would be fantastic." She called out.

xxxx

An hour later Kate heard a commotion outside the front door. Opening the door she found Lanie standing there holding an overnight bag. The medical examiner was glaring at the guard on her left.

"Did you really have to go through the bag?" She said with barely contained anger. "Did you have fun going through Beckett's things, huh?"

"I'm sorry, mam" The guard replied.

"Don't you mam me..."

"We have to check." The guard said in an even voice.

"Don't get much excitement standing around guarding doors, huh?" Lanie shot back.

Kate rolled her eyes at her friend. She reached out and grabbed Lanie by the arm, pulling her into the loft and closing the door.

"You're just upset he didn't frisk you."

Lanie's anger suddenly vanished and evil smile stole across her face.

"Well there is that, girlfriend." Lanie said. "Did you see how hunky he is?"

Kate shook her head at her friend. She took the overnight bag from Lanie. The medical examiner took in Kate's attire with a raised eyebrow. Kate was wearing another Star Wars Tee shirt and a pair of sweat pants.

"Girl I didn't figure you for a Star Wars fan."

"It's borrowed."

"Writer Boy's?" Lanie ventured.

Kate gave her a curt nod of her head.

"Really making yourself at home, eh?" Lanie said with a laugh. "Next thing you'll be telling me you're sleeping in his room."

The look on Kate's face stopped Lanie's laughter dead in its tracks. She stared at her friend wide-eyed.

"Lanie why don't you go into the kitchen and say hello to Martha and Alexis while I go upstairs and get dressed." Kate said shooting a frown at her friend.

"Okay...okay." Lanie said as she started for the kitchen. "But honey, when this is all over, we are _definitely_ going to talk...you hear?"

Kate waved a dismissive had in the direction of her friend as she headed upstairs to get dressed.

xxxx

Kate came down the stairs and deposited the overnight bag at the side of the staircase. She had changed into a pair of jeans, white shirt and dark blue jacket. The ensemble was completed by a pair of high heel boots. She heard laughter emanating from the kitchen she turned and made her way there. The castle women and Lanie were sitting at the kitchen counter.

"Good morning dear." Martha said.

"Morning Martha."

Kate made her way to the coffee machine and fixed herself another cup of coffee. She turned and brought it to the kitchen counter.

"Looks like you didn't get much sleep?" Martha observed.

Kate could only nod her head. She had been especially careful with her make up but despite her best efforts it did not escape Martha's sharply observant eye.

"Have you called the captain?" Lanie inquired.

"Yeah, I called him." Kate replied. "I told him I was going to take a couple of days to stay with Martha and Alexis." She paused to take a sip from her cup, then she shrugged her shoulders as she resumed speaking. "I don't think he bought it."

"Well I have plan B, the doctor's certificate ready to go when you need it." Lanie told her.

Kate gave her friend a nod of thanks. She hoped that she did not need the doctor's certificate. What bothered her was that she had lied to the Captain. She hated having to lie to Captain Montgomery.

It had been a tense call with the man that she looked upon as her mentor and father figure at work. In the end her had reluctantly accepted her reasons but she could tell he was not all that happy.

"The courier brought over your airline ticket." Alexis said as she held out the delivery envelope to the detective.

"You should have seen the poor boy's face." Lanie said with a chuckle. "He couldn't stop shaking when he handed over the delivery. He kept looking at the two guards, I swear I thought he was going to wet himself."

Kate took the envelope. She examined it to see if it had been opened and was relieved to see that it had not been. The last thing she wanted was having the protection detail getting wind of what she was planning to do. She opened the envelope. Pulling out the airline ticket, she shook her head at seeing the first class airfare.

"I really don't need to go first class." Kate sighed.

"We discussed it last night, Kate. Besides it's too late to change it now." Alexis said in a firm tone of voice.

Kate then saw the hotel confirmation slip. She looked at the young the young girl.

"I could have found a hotel, Lexie." Kate chided gently. "I'm not totally without resources, you know?"

"I know Kate." Alexis said. "I figured that you'd rather not waste your time trying to find a hotel...so I..."

Kate looked at the young red head and gave her a warm smile. "Thanks Lexie."

xxxx

Having finished breakfast both Alexis and her grandmother had gone upstairs to get dressed leaving Kate and Lanie alone in the kitchen.

"Honey we need to talk." Lanie announced.

Kate rolled her eyes. "Lanie, I'm not going to discuss my current sleeping arrangements."

The medical examiner waved her hand. "No, not that."

"What do you want to talk about?" Kate noticed the serious look on her friend's face.

"When I dropped by your place I ran into Motorcycle Boy."

Kate frowned. She had received a number of messages from Josh but had not bothered to reply back. Despite the tenseness their relationship had developed of late, she still felt a little guilty that she had cut him off.

"I've been meaning to give him a call." Kate said in a low voice.

"Well you wont have to worry about Motorcycle Boy for a while."

Kate shot her friend a questioning look.

"He's off another Doctors Without Borders jaunt."

"They're not jaunts, Lanie." Kate scolded.

"Whatever. He's off to Haiti for a few months."

"When?" Kate looked at the Medical examiner in surprise.

"In a couple of days."

Kate reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out her phone. She glanced at her friend.

"Excuse me while I make a call." Kate said as she headed out of the kitchen and disappeared into Castle's study.

Lanie watched as Kate departed and shook her head slowly.

"The sooner you break it off with Motorcycle Boy, the better you'll be girlfriend." The medical examiner said in a hushed whisper.

xxxx

When Kate emerged from Castle's study she felt drained. The phone call to Josh had taken longer than she thought it would. It had been a roller coaster ride of emotions. There had been anger certainly and a fair bit of shouting from both ends of the line. Recriminations were volleyed back and forth with the intensity of a grand slam tennis final. In the end he had demanded that Kate choose; it was him or Castle.

She had fallen silent at his demand. A conflict of emotions warred within her. She despised him for forcing her to make a choice. But her silence told Josh all he needed to know about who she chose. He rang off with a curt _good-bye_ that spoke volumes to her.

"Honey, are you all right?" Lanie asked as she came up to Kate.

Kate looked up and gave a nod of her head.

"I broke up with Josh." Kate said in a low voice.

"So Motorcycle Boy rides off into the sunset, eh?" Lanie chortled.

Kate shot her friend a look. "Shouldn't you be consoling me?"

"Do you need consoling, girlfriend?" Lanie asked as she placed a comforting hand on Kate's arm.

Kate thought over the question for a moment or two. Finally she shook her head.

"I feel more relief than anything else."

"Good to hear." Lanie said her face brightening. She gave Kate's arm a squeeze before releasing it and stepped back. "If there was any room in here I be doing cartwheels round about now."

Kate rolled her eyes and walked away from her friend.

xxxx

Kate checked her watch for what felt like the hundredth time. She had been pacing the living room floor. It was almost time for her to leave and the nerves were setting in. All morning she had been thinking how to get out of the loft and still had not come up with anything that would work. She about ready to walk out the front door and tell her guards to drive her to the airport.

"There's a car waiting for you a couple of blocks up the street." Martha announced.

"A car?" Kate said with some surprise. She stopped her pacing and looked at Martha. "There isn't any need for that, I can catch a cab."

"Nonsense dear." Martha said dismissively. "It's a car from the service Richard uses."

"It's not necessary."

"It's the least we can do, Kate."

"You've done so much all ready."

Martha smiled at the detective and waved her hand dismissively.

"Right, how in the world do I get out of here with our bodyguards catching wind of it?" Kate asked as she looked at the other women in turn.

Alexis' face suddenly brightened. "Follow me, Kate."

Kate said her good-byes to Lanie and Martha that involved a lot of hugging and well wishes then followed the girl stopping by the stairs to pick up her bag.

Alexis led her along a corridor that ended at the door to a large storage closet. Alexis opened the door and switched on the light to reveal a series of shelves on either side of the closet. The shelves were crammed with blankets and linen. Alexis stood by the open door and pointed to the opposite wall.

"Over there is a door." Alexis said. "It opens to a stairway that leads all the way down to ground floor where a passage leads across to the building next door and it opens up on an alley."

"A secret passage?"

"That's what dad calls it." Alexis grinned. "You wouldn't believe how happy he was to discover it."

Kate smiled. She had a fair idea how Castle would have reacted upon discovering the secret passage.

"Thanks Alexis."

Kate threw her arms around the young girl and hugged her tightly.

"Stay safe Kate and bring back Dad." Alexis said.

"You know I will."

xxxx

Kate reached the airline counter and checked in. A glance at her watch told her that she had half an hour before her flight was called. She accepted the boarding pass the girl behind the desk passed over with a nod of thanks.

"Yo Beckett." A familiar voice called out.

Kate turned around to find Esposito and Ryan smiling as they approached. She noticed that they were both carrying overnight bags.

"What are you two doing here?" She asked suspiciously.

"We're coming with you." Ryan explained, grinning.

Kate started shaking her head.

"Lanie told me what you're doing." Esposito said fixing her with a steady glare.

"And Javier told me." Ryan pointed to his partner.

"You're not going down there alone." Esposito said firmly. "Lanie would skin me alive."

"And I don't wanna think what she'd do to me after finishing with him." Ryan said with a shudder.

"No."

"We're coming with you and that's the end of it." Esposito said with finality. Kate shook her head again.

"Beckett, he's our friend. Like it or not we're coming with you. We're in this together." Ryan said in a conciliatory tone.

Kate realised that no matter what she said these two were not going to leave her. She smiled warmly as she looked at the two men. She was deeply touched by their show of solidarity. She wanted to reach out and pull them into a big hug but she didn't. She was not sure if she would be able to stop the tears that were threatening.

"Anyway, when the captain busts us down to traffic after finding out what we've done, we three are going to have to stick together." Ryan added in a deadpan tone.

"Thanks guys."

"Hey, we'd better check in." Ryan suggested, nudging his partner.

Kate was astonished to discover that her two companions had first class seats on the same flight as hers.

"Lanie organised it." Esposito explained.

"With some help from Alexis." added Ryan.

"You realise what a devious girlfriend you have Esposito?" Kate said.

"What can I say? The girl likes to keep me on my toes." Esposito grinned.

xxxxxxxxx

**As always your reviews are very welcome.**

**Regards C**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Captain Roy Montgomery was not a happy man as he rode the elevator to his floor. There were some mornings it did not pay to get out of bed. This was one of them. It was a little after ten o'clock and he had just returned from the CompStat meeting with the borough commander and senior officers.

Before going into the meeting he had received a call from Beckett informing him that she was going to take a couple of days off to stay with Castle's family. He had been immediately suspicious but kept those thoughts to himself.

Their fight in his office yesterday was still fresh in his mind. In her anger and frustration she had sailed close to insubordination but at the very last moment, realising where she was heading had tacked away and with barely controlled anger had accepted his decision.

He understood her anger, he shared it but he could not let it show. He did not like having to hand the case over to some other agency any more than she did but there was nothing he could do about it. If Castle was here in New York, there would not be a stone left unturned in the search to find him. But he wasn't in New York. The NYPD did not have juridiction.

He also understood Beckett's concerns for the missing man perhaps far better than she did. The past couple of days had revealed the depths of emotion that she was not willing to admit. It had been on display for all the world to see.

While Montgomery did not want to be without his best detective he knew full well that she would not be focused on her work, her mind would be elsewhere understandably. Feigning reluctance he eventually agreed to Beckett's request for a couple of days off. If he knew his detective she would not be sitting around Castle's loft having a coffee with Castle's mother and daughter.

Then things went from bad to worse once he went into the meeting. He was on the receiving end of a chewing out from the borough commander over the quarterly crime figures for his precinct. The clearance rate for murder had been good, they had been steadily rising over the past three years and Montgomery was proud of that. He was proud of his people. He had a good squad of detectives, dedicated people who worked hard, he was proud of their achievements. And it certainly did not hurt having a certain author consulting on cases.

While the clearance rate for murder was on the up it was in the other areas that the figures were a little disappointing. The robbery figures had gone backwards and that was the main reason for Montgomery's chewing out by the commander. Montgomery could have easily sat there and taken it and then promised to have the figures improved in the next quarter but he was not that kind of man.

He had defended his people fiercely. He knew the kind of constraints his people worked under, the lack of money because of budget restraints and so on. Sometimes Montgomery wondered if the people arrayed around the conference table could remember their days when they had been on the frontlines and what they had to deal with. Sometimes it felt like these guys were struck down with amnesia once the Captain's bars were pinned to their uniforms.

So Montgomery defended his people. He could not do anything less. He had even gotten into a shouting match with the borough commander which surprised some of the other officers around the conference table. However laudable it was going into bat for his people, the figures were the figures and they did not look good and they had to improve and drastically in the next quarter. That was the bottom line. Montgomery knew that.

Montgomery was not looking forward to the meeting with the head of the robbery squad because the lieutenant was going to get a similar chewing out from him along the lines that Montgomery had been on the receiving end from the commander. The head of Robbery was not the only one either.

It was par for the course being the captain of a precinct. It was a difficult balance between keeping the troops happy and keeping the higher ups happy. He hated to do it but sometimes a boot up the backside was needed.

The elevator doors slid open and Montgomery stepped out and started making his way to his office. He nodded greetings to several detectives he passed. Looking over the bullpen he saw most of his people were at their desks hard at work. His gaze fell upon two desks that were missing their occupants. His eyes narrowed as his moustache twitched.

He paused in the doorway of the briefing room and saw Detective Karpowski seated at the the table going through case files.

"Morning Detective."

"Morning Captain." Detective Karpowski said looking up from the file she had been going through. She stifled a yawn and suddenly looked embarrassed.

"You haven't been here all night?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No sir, I just got in early."

Montgomery nodded his head.

"Anything yet?"

Karpowski gave a shrug of her shoulders. "Could be something or it could be nothing. Don't know yet, sir."

"What have you got?"

"I want to check on a couple of things before I say anything."

"Something or nothing, either way when you find out, let me know, Detective."

"Yes sir, I will."

Montgomery cast a glance in the direction of the bullpen to the pair of empty desks before turning his attention back to Karpowski.

"You haven't seen, Esposito or Ryan anywhere?"

Montgomery caught the hesitation on the detective's face. It was ever so brief and if one blinked it would have been missed. Captain Montgomery was not the kind of man who missed those things. He might have a precinct captain stuck behind a desk most of the time but what his people tended to forget was that there had been a time when he had been a detective, and pretty good one at that. He didn't miss the little things.

" They could be chasing something down, sir." Karpowski replied.

The detective turned her attention to the file in her hand. Montgomery almost smiled. It was a good response. She had not exactly answered his question but then she had not lied to him. He had no doubt that she was covering for her colleagues. Some things did not change Montgomery thought to himself.

"Well if you happen to see them, tell them I want to see them in my office." He said.

"I'll do that sir."

"Good."

"Captain, a pair of FeeBees showed up five minutes ago." Detective Karpowski announced. "They're waiting in your office."

"Thank you Detective." Montgomery said as he left the doorway and headed for his office.

Montgomery strode into his office to find the two FBI agents seated. He put down his brief case by the desk as the two visitors rose from their chairs. Both agents were dressed in standard black business suits of the cheap off the wrack variety and white shirts. The taller of the two men smiled as he stretched out his hand to Montgomery.

"Captain Montgomery, I am Special Agent Peter McBride, and this is Special Agent Lou Walker."

Montgomery shook their hands in turn and then waved them back to their seats as he went around his desk and sat down. He took a moment to take in the two agents.

Agent McBride was aged in his mid to late twenties, with an athletic build, fair hair and a face that could have earned him much more money if he had chosen a career as a male model. He had confident air about him that only a FBI shield could give. His partner Agent Walker was in his mid twenties with black hair that was all ready showing signs of receding. He was barrel chested and the suit he wore seemed ill fitting on his expanding frame.

"You received my report?" Montgomery inquired.

"Yes we did, sir." Agent McBride replied.

"So what can I do for you?"

"We just have a few questions, Captain." said Agent Walker.

"Are you two handling the case?" Montgomery waved his finger at them.

"No captain, the case is being handled out of our El Paso Field Office, we're here to ask a few follow up questions." Agent McBride informed him.

Montgomery nodded his head for them to continue.

The two agents peppered Captain Montgomery with one question after another. He filled them as best as he could. He told them that Castle had been on a book tour, and that it had been Detective Beckett who had discovered that he had gone missing and how eventually they learned that the author had been kidnapped.

"What is Mr Castle's relationship with the NYPD?" Agent McBride asked.

"He is a consultant, he assists in our murder investigations."

Montgomery saw the two agents exchange amused looks. His hackles rose.

"Can't NYPD afford to hire real consultants they have to bring in mystery authors?" Agent Walker said with a snigger.

Montgomery narrowed his eyes and shot a withering glare at the agent.

"Son you must be fresh out of the Academy and still wet behind the ears so I'll let that smart ass remark go." He said in a warning tone of voice. "But if I ever hear it again or anything similar I'll personally bounce you from here into next week."

"I'm sure Agent Walker meant no..."

"Save it Agent McBride." Montgomery glowered.

Castle may not have been an official member of the NYPD but he had become an important, no make that an invaluable member of the 12th's homicide squad. Castle was one of his people. Montgomery was not able to let a pair of federal agents cast aspersions or make light of that fact.

Montgomery was pleased to see both agents look chastened. Agent McBride recovered from the lashing.

"Captain Montgomery would you know if Mr Castle has any enemies?"

"None that we know of but we are looking into it."

"What about any deranged fans?" Agent Walker asked.

Montgomery glared back at the agent before turning his gaze to Agent McBride. He would put the man in his place by ignoring him. He would have been the first to admit it was a little petty but at this moment he did not care, the man needed to learn a little respect.

"We've gone through his fan mail with a fine tooth comb, nothing there."

"Would it be possible to get copies of his fan mail? Another set of eyes and all."

"I can have copies sent over."

"Thank you Captain. What about cases he's been involved as a consultant?"

"We're going through them at the moment."

"Could we get...?"

"Agent McBride I said we are going through them at the moment." Montgomery said firmly.

The captain was not about to turn over official NYPD files to the Feds. He would need a direct order from way up on high to get him to do that. He doubted that such an order would come. "If anything turns up in those files, Agent McBride, I will make sure you are informed at once."

For a moment it looked like Agent McBride would press for the files. He saw the look on the captain's face and thought better of voicing the request. He forced a smile to his face as he nodded his head.

"We would appreciate it, Captain Montgomery."

"And I expect to be kept appraised of your investigations, Agent McBride."

"Certainly, Captain if we turn up anything..."

Montgomery shook his head. "I want to be kept appraised on a daily basis."

"That might not be possible Captain." Agent McBride hesitantly.

Montgomery fixed Agent McBride with a steely look.

"I don't think you heard me clearly boy, so I will spell it out for you." He said slowly. "The Mayor is personal friend of Richard Castle." Montgomery paused to let that sink in before he spoke again. "He has been informed of the kidnapping. This means he will be calling me everyday for an update and I want to be able to brief him. Now you don't want to be upsetting the Mayor of New York City needlessly, do you? Think of all the grief your bosses would catch if that were to happen? And you know how superiors love to share the grief?"

Agent McBride nodded his head. "I understand perfectly, captain. I will see to it that you receive a daily update."

"Thank you."

The two agents rose to their feet signalling the end of the meeting. Montgomery did not rise from his chair. Agent McBride reached the door and then turned to look back at the Captain.

"Captain Montgomery, is Detective Beckett available? I have a couple of questions for her." He said.

"I'm afraid Detective Beckett is not in today." Montgomery replied. "She has taken a couple of days off to stay with Castle's family."

Agent McBride looked a little surprised at that. "I see. Well we can catch up with her later on?"

"I'm sure." The captain agreed.

"Well, thank you for your time Captain Montgomery." Agent McBride said with a smile.

Montgomery nodded his head but did not return the agent's smile.

Montgomery let out a sigh and shook his head once the two agents had departed. If those two were the best the FBI could come up with...he did not finish the thought as he shook his head again. He could not help but think that this pair would not last five minutes in his precinct. He would have booted them out the door before they knew what happened. He seriously hoped that the agents down in El Paso were of a better quality than these two that had left his office otherwise Castle was in very serious trouble. He did not dwell on that thought either.

Despite his deep concern for Castle's welfare and safe return Montgomery still had a precinct to run and that could not be put on hold. He reached for the telephone to make some calls.

Ten minutes later Montgomery emerged from his office with his empty coffee mug. He headed to the break room. He poured himself a steaming fresh cup of espresso. Not for the first time did he silently thank the author for donating this coffee machine. It has been a godsend.

"Sir?"

Montgomery turned away from the coffee machine to see Detective Karpowski enter the break room. She carried with her a file.

"Yes Detective, have you come to tell me you've found Esposito and Ryan?" He asked with an amused smile on his face.

Detective Karpowski faltered in her approach.

"Ah..um..no sir. I haven't seen them." Detective Karpowski said hesitantly.

Montgomery grinned at the woman. "What have you got?"

Detective Karpowski recovered and she opened the file she had been holding and held it out to the captain. "You better take a look at this, sir."

Montgomery put his coffee down and took the proffered file. As he scanned the top sheet the smile faded from his face. He looked over to Karpowski and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"I've been going over the phone records of perps that Beckett and Castle have put away." Karpowski explained.

Montgomery nodded his head.

"I found nothing until I got to this prisoner, sir. I've highlighted the phone numbers that have been called numerous times. You'll notice sir that most of those calls have been made only in the last month."

Montgomery nodded his head. "Calls in and calls out." he observed.

"Yes sir."

"Go on." Montgomery prompted.

"This prisoner is currently on remand. The case doesn't come to trial for another month."

"It could be to a lawyer?"

"I've highlighted those calls in orange sir, I'm talking about the ones in yellow." Karpowski indicated. "The traffic only started up a month ago."

"Do we know who the number belongs to?"

"The number belongs to a man named Jorge Gonzales." Karpowski informed him. "He's a mid level heroine distributor. Some gang links. A string of convictions to his name but nothing recently. Also he's made a couple of visits to the prison."

"So who is the prisoner in question?"

"Take a look sir, last page." Karpowski said.

Montgomery reached the last page in the file and saw the name printed on the top. His eyebrows rose skywards. He looked at the detective.

"I've got Shapiro pulling his phone records, and Montago is getting the logs from the jail."

Montgomery closed the file and handed it back to Karpowski. He became thoughtful for a moment. It made sense, take out one or both of the main police witnesses and the strength of the DA's case takes a nose dive and the chances of acquittal rise accordingly.

"Good work, detective." He said. "I think you've found who is behind Castle's kidnapping."

"Thank you sir."

"Dig up everything you can on that bastard Gonzales." Montgomery ordered. "Grab whoever you need to help you."

"That wont be a problem sir."

"And haul his ass in here."

"You got it, sir." Detective Karpowski replied smiling.

**XXXXXXX**

**There have been some of you out there who have been wondering who the villain is behind Castle's kidnapping. That is the reason behind this chapter I wanted to introduce another aspect to the story: what the guys back at the 12th are doing and see if they can find the villain.**

**It goes without saying that I really do enjoy receiving your reviews, the more the merrier. I would really love to know what you think of this chapter.**

**Now if you'll excuse me, the creative juices are bubbling away and with a bit of luck I should have another chapter posted very shortly.**

**Kindest regards**

**Con **


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Kate Beckett felt exhausted as she walked through the airport. The trip had taken longer than she he had expected. The one hour stop over in Atlanta had turned into two hours when a minor mechanical fault had been found on the plane and needed to be fixed. She had tried to sleep on the plane but it was not all that easy what with Ryan and Esposito carrying on like a pair of kids on their first plane trip. It was their first time flying first class which they did not fail to let her know and they both took the opportunity to avail themselves of the amenities found in first class. Handling one nine year old on a sugar rush was bad enough but a pair of them was a little too much for her.

As she strode across the concourse she set a brisk pace forcing Ryan and Esposito to run to catch up with her. She was grateful that they had come down from their sugar rush.

"Yo Beckett, where you heading?"

Kate stopped and turned to look back at the two men.

"I'm going to get us a cab."

Esposito gave her a look before he glanced to his smiling partner.

"No need." Esposito told her.

"What do you mean, _'no need'?"_

"The ride has been taken care of."

Kate raised her eyebrows at the two men.

"We got a rental car organised." Said Esposito breaking into a grin.

"Well Little Castle organised it for us when she fixed the plane tickets but you know what we mean." Ryan added.

Kate looked from Esposito to Ryan. She shook her head.

"Go and get the car Ryan." She ordered.

"You got it." Ryan said and trotted off in the direction of the car rental desks.

Esposito watched him as Ryan departed and then turned his attention to Beckett.

"You okay, Beckett?"

Beckett nodded her head slowly. Esposito looked at her sternly.

"I'm fine Esposito." She told him tersely. "Just a little tired."

Esposito nodded his head but he continued to regard her carefully. Lanie's warnings about keeping an eye on her girl to make sure she was all right still echoed in his ears. He was not about to disobey Lanie.

Beckett reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. Switching it on she checked for any messages but there were none. She sent off messages to the Castle women and to Lanie informing them that they had arrived in El Paso.

Next she opened the contacts book and located the telephone number that Agent Grey had given her. Looking at Esposito she put the phone to her ear. She tried not to let the nervousness she felt show on her face. On the third ring the call was answered.

"_**Yes?"**_ A male voice said.

Beckett took a deep breath and spoke. "Derrick Storm needs your help."

"_**Detective, I have been expecting your call. Did you have a good flight?"**_

"It was okay, yeah."

"**_We will meet tonight, I will send the time and venue to your phone. Thank you for your call."_**

The line went dead. Beckett looked at her phone a little perplexed. The call had lasted barely fifteen seconds. The frustration returned.

"You made contact?" Esposito asked.

Beckett nodded her head as she put away the phone.

"Where and when?"

"Tonight, as for where, the man said he'd send the details later."

Detective Ryan came up to them holding up the keys.

"We got ourselves an SUV." he announced happily.

His partner held out his hand for the keys.

"No way dude. I'm driving."

"It's my turn to drive, bro."

Beckett shook her head at the two of them. She reached out and snatched the keys from Ryan's hand turned and started for the exit.

"Now look what you've gone and done, bro."

"Me? You're the one who forgot it was my turn to drive."

Both men ran to catch up with the fast disappearing Beckett.

**XXXX**

It was a small diner with a row of booths arrayed on one side and a long counter and stools on the other. Beyond the counter was the area where the cooking was done. It could have easily passed as the template for all those small diners that were found in the movies. The décor harked back to a time long gone. The posters on the walls had a yellowing patina of age and were of long forgotten singers. An old jukebox in the corner at the front sat silent.

The diner was mom and pop operation it was clean with a warm and welcoming feel to it.

There were a few other customers in the diner. Several wore army fatigues. They were from Fort Bliss, the big military bass close by.

Kate had received a text message at around six o'clock giving her the location and time of the meeting. The meeting had been set down for eight o'clock. She checked her watch and saw that it was now eight-thirty. Their contact had not shown up. She tried to push down the growing fear that the contact wouldn't show up.

"Maybe you should give the guy another call?" Ryan suggested. He was sitting beside Beckett on one side of the booth.

"Nah give the guy a bit more time." Esposito replied. He was sitting on the other side of the booth with his back to the door. "He could be running late, or he could be casing the joint."

Beckett had to concede Esposito had a point. It still didn't make her feel any better. She did not want think about what she would do if the man did not show up.

"So tell me what you found out from the El Paso PD?" Kate asked.

After checking into their Holiday Inn rooms she had sent Esposito and Ryan over to the El Paso police to get an update on the case.

Esposito made a noise. "We've all ready told you Beckett."

"Then tell me again." Kate said tersely.

Esposito almost glared back at the woman but he checked himself just in time. He could see that she was under some stress. She had been back in New York and it had only intensified now they were in the city where Castle had been kidnapped. He knew she hated waiting around and doing nothing. She was the kind who wanted to be doing something, anything. She was like a caged lioness and the waiting around was killing her. So she lashed out. Esposito did not take it to heart. He was big enough to cut her some slack.

"Well you have to agree that it is good news about Pedro Rodriguez?" Ryan interjected trying to pour oil on troubled waters.

Kate slid her eyes to him. Slowly she nodded her head. It was welcome news that Rodriguez's condition had improved a little. While he was still not out of the woods there was a ray light in the distance.

Kate looked down at her near empty cup of coffee. She picked it up and drained it quickly and returned the cup to the table.

The waitress came over to their booth and poured more coffee into their empty coffee cups from the pot she had brought over.

"Are you sure you I can't interest you in some pie, honey?" She asked Beckett with a smile.

"Thank you no." Kate replied, forcing a smile to her face.

"What about you two boys? It's the best apple pie in all of Texas."

"Well if it's the best in all of Texas..." Ryan said. "Yeah I'll have some, thanks."

"Make that two." Esposito added.

"Two coming right up."

The waitress returned a couple of minutes later with the pies and placed them in front of Ryan and Esposito.

"Enjoy." she said and moved off to the next booth.

The two men quickly tucked into their food.

"This is great." Ryan declared with his mouth full of apple pie.

Esposito nodded his head eagerly. "Uh-huh."

"You really got to try it Beckett." Ryan pushed his plate to Kate. She declined with a wave of her hand.

Kate looked from Esposito to Ryan watching them as they devoured their apple pie. She sincerely hoped there was not too much sugar in that food. She did not want to be dealing with the kids she had to contend with back on the plane.

Kate's attention was drawn to the door opening at the front of the diner. An army officer walked in. She was about to look away but something about him made her watch him carefully. He was about five nine in height with a stocky build. His face had a tan that indicated he had spent a long time in sunny climes. She pegged him to be in his early to mid forties. While he did not move with a swagger he did have an air of easy confidence. He was dressed in utilities and wore a green beret.

She saw the man make a careful sweep with his eyes of the diner noting all the people without seeming to do it. He noted Kate and her companions and approached the booth. He stopped a foot behind Esposito.

"Attention!" He shouted.

Instantly Esposito stopped what he was doing and jumped to his feet to stand ramrod still. Kate stared wide-eyed in surprise. She didn't know whether to laugh at Esposito's reaction.

"Private Esposito, you're still the sorriest looking sack of cow-cookies it's been my misfortune to ever see." The officer said in a low growl. He looked over to Beckett and winked at her. Kate recognised the voice from the phone call. This was the man she had spoken to.

Esposito turned his head to see the officer. His face broke into a big smile.

"Captain Valentine." He said.

"These days it's Lieutenant Colonel." Valentine corrected him.

"Good to see you, sir."

The two men shook hands and embraced. Breaking the embrace Esposito made the introductions. Then he shifted across and Valentine eased himself into the booth. He pulled off his beret and tucked into the belt of his trousers.

"You two know each other, I gather." Kate said.

"Back in the day I served on the cap...the colonel's team." Esposito explained.

"He was never any good so I had to get rid of him." Valentine replied grinning.

"I can understand why you'd do that." Ryan said deadpan. "He's still no good."

Ryan's partner shot him an evil look before looking to Valentine. "Colonel, last I heard you were working for Langley." Esposito said as he motioned to the uniform Valentine was wearing.

"I'm still in the Army, private." Valentine explained. "I'm on secondment to the cloak and dagger boys at the moment. Giving them the benefit of my wisdom and experience."

The waitress seeing there was another person at the table came over. Valentine asked for a cup of coffee. A minute later a cup was sitting in front of the Lieutenant Colonel and everyone else's had been refilled.

For a few minutes Kate listened as Esposito and Valentine caught up on old times. Esposito never really talked much about his time in the army except for a snippet or two. Some of the stories that got aired surprised her and embarrassed Esposito. This was good she thought to herself. This was ammunition that could be used sometime down the track. She was sure that Lanie would love to hear them.

"Agent Grey told me that you would be able to help us find and rescue Richard Castle?" Kate said

after there had been a lull in the war stories. She looked at Valentine.

"That would be correct Detective." Valentine said in a low voice.

"How?"

Valentine leaned back against the booth. He did not speak as his eyes moved from Kate, to Ryan and to Esposito and back to Kate.

"Let me worry about that." he said finally.

"I'd like to know." Kate said in a firm voice. She was not about to be brushed off like that.

Kate stared back at Valentine and saw him cast a glance in Esposito's direction. The detective gave an imperceptible nod of his head as if to say it was cool to speak in front of her. He leaned forward and folded his hands on the table. He fixed Kate in a steady gaze.

"I haven't come up with a plan yet, Detective Beckett." Valentine informed her. "I only got the call from Agent Grey early yesterday.

Kate looked at the man in disbelief. She did not know what to expect from him but she was sure it was not this. He did not have a plan?

"You've done nothing?" She said in an accusatory tone.

Valentine allowed a small smile to appear on his lips. He ignored her tone.

"I didn't say that, Detective." He said evenly. "I just said I haven't come up with a plan."

"Well, what have you done?"

"I have to assemble my team. I've guys flying from the east coast and a couple coming in from the west coast. Hell, I've even got one coming in from Afghanistan. When I told them who it was they dropped everything and said they were on their way."

Kate schooled her face not to react but she was surprised at what the man had said. He had guys coming from all over? She found it hard to believe. She nodded her head for him to continue but the stern look on her face remained.

"I sent a four man reccon team over the border earlier this morning." Valentine added. He paused to check his watch. "They have been in place for the past five hours. I need as much intelligence as I can get about the warehouse. How many guards there are, the comings and goings, entry points and so on."

"I understand." Kate conceded.

"I'm not about to go in with my team without knowing what we might face. That's a sure fire way to ballsup a mission and get the wrong people killed."

"Okay."

"Plus transportation has to be organised to the target, and escape routes worked out."

Kate held up her hand. "I think you've made your point Colonel."

Valentine smiled at her as he nodded his head. He picked up his cup and took a big sip of the now cold coffee. He drained the rest of the cup's contents in one gulp. He set the cup down and rose to his feet.

"We will meet again tomorrow at noon."

Kate rose from the booth. She looked at her partners.

"Ryan, Esposito go get the car." She ordered.

The two men looked at each other and then up at Kate. They understood that she wanted to have a private word with Valentine. Silently they slid out of the booth nodded their good-byes to Valentine and departed from the diner.

Kate walked over to the counter and paid for the coffees and the apple pies. Valentine offered to pay but she waved away his offer.

**XXX**

Kate and Valentine emerged from the diner and stood on the street. The night had gotten cold and Kate shivered. She did up the jacket she wore. The day had been very warm and now it had gotten cold. She would not be able to get used to the sudden temperature changes. Valentine was watching the street.

Kate turned to look at the special forces soldier.

"So why are you doing this?" She said. "Was it orders?"

"I was asked Detective." Valentine replied in a low voice as he turned to look at her. "But to tell you the truth if I had found out I would have volunteered."

Kate raised a questioning eyebrow at the man.

"I like the guy okay?" Valentine gave a shrug of his shoulders.

"So you're a fan of his books?"

"I wouldn't say a fan, Detective. Usually the bulk of my reading involves intelligence reports, evaluations, manuals. I've read a few of his books and liked what I've read."

Kate did not understand and it showed on her face. Valentine smiled at her confusion. He turned his gaze back to the street.

"A few years back, maybe six or seven years ago I was at Fort Bragg I was training up a new team. I was getting them reading for deployment to Iraq. I'd done two tours in Iraq, another in Afghanistan up till then. One day I get a call from the Pentagon, some pencil pusher in army publicity wanted to bring in a civilian to observe what we did in training. I was against it from the get go and told the guy to pi...to get lost."

Kate couldn't help but grin at the man watching his language.

"Esposito will tell you that special forces guys are tight knit bunch, they have to be. They train hard because they fight hard and they play hard. They have to rely on each other, they have to trust each other. In combat it could be a matter of life and death, theirs or the man beside them. We don't like outsiders. So we didn't want a civilian running around with us. However our commanding general thought otherwise and the next day this writer guy shows up."

"Castle?" Kate ventured.

Valentine nodded his head.

"He was doing research on a book he was writing."

Kate nodded her head at that. She had first hand knowledge about the lengths Richard Castle would go to research the novels he wrote. He was a stickler for authenticity.

"He joined the team. Well, we really put him through the ringer, made his life hard, we gave him hell but I got to tell you he stuck it out. The man didn't give up. Sure he'd collapse from exhaustion and there were times where he couldn't pick his feet up and there were other times where he would crawl to the finish hours after the rest of the team."

Valentine paused a moment and cast a glance in Kate's direction. "I've seen hard-assed special forces guys give up far earlier but not Castle. That impressed us. It sure as hell impressed me."

Kate couldn't help but smile. It sounded like Castle.

"We started calling him Cool Hand, you know like the movie?"

"Cool Hand Luke." Kate said. She had seen the movie at one of Castle's movie nights at his loft.

"There was a guy on my team, Gomez. He had recently been married and had a young kid, a baby girl. He and Castle became friends. After training I'd see them talking in the mess, swapping stories sharing photos of their kids.

"Castle has a daughter that he adores." Kate said.

"Yeah. Anyway about a month after Castle left us the team got deployed to Iraq. It was the second, no the third mission on our tour, Gomez was killed in a fire fight with some insurgents we encountered."

Kate looked over to Valentine and saw him staring into the distance. She remaining silent waiting for him to continue which he did after a few moments.

"Unfortunately Gomez owed money right up the whazoo, he was way behind on his mortgage and the bank was getting ready to foreclose, throw out his widow and kid out on the street. Can you believe that? We did what we could but it wasn't much, barely kept the wolves at bay.

"Six months later we come home after our tour and I discover that Gomez's mortgage has been paid in full and a college fund has been set up for his kid!"

"That sounds just like Castle." Kate said smiling recalling her own memories.

"Yeah well I didn't know that at the time. All I got told was it was some secret benefactor."

"But you did some investigating?" Kate asked.

Valentine nodded his head. "I asked a couple of my contacts to do so some digging and they find out Castle was behind it." Valentine looked at Kate. "I rang him to thank him for what he did and do you know what?"

"What?"

"He flat out denied having done anything."

"Yeah that's Castle."

"I mean he almost convinced me but I had the proof, you know?"

"He doesn't like advertising his acts of generosity."

"Yeah, well he's one of the good guys, Detective. Perhaps if there were a few more Richard Castles the world might be a better place but we can't lose the one we got." Valentine said. "And it's time to return the favour we owe him." He turned to look at Kate. "That's why I'm doing this Detective."

Kate nodded her head in understanding. She knew exactly how he felt.

"See you tomorrow Detective."

Kate watched as Valentine walked away down the street. She turned and signalled to where Ryan and Esposito were parked. A moment later the car started up and approached her.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**There you have it folks, another chapter. I hope you liked it.**

**Con**


	19. Chapter 19

**To everyone out there who is following this story, and especially to those who take the trouble to send reviews, a very big thank you. I appreciate the suggestions that you have submitted as to what Castle would dream about next, and here it is. I hope you like it. So without further ado...enjoy.**

Chapter 19

Castle paused in his work. He rested his forehead against the wall to rest a moment. He was exhausted and his breathing was painful as it was laboured. Once more he had to tell himself to take shallower breaths in an effort to ease the pain in his chest. His thumb and forefinger were cramping from holding on the needle tightly while he had been scraping at the bricks. He had discovered that it was a lot harder than he had originally thought.

A rivulet of sweat trickled down the side of his face. He wiped the sweat with the back of his left hand. The needle was put into the pocket of his trousers to keep from losing it. He would rest for a bit he decided. It wouldn't do to collapse while working and for his captors to discover what he had been doing. He sat up straighter.

Looking down at the cot Castle saw the build up of crumbled mortar that littered his bed. Carefully he started to sweep away the dust and clumps of mortar but only managing spread it all over the cot. No one would notice the extra layer of dirt on the blanket he thought. At least he hoped they did not notice.

Castle turned his attention back to the wall and looked at his handiwork. A smile leaped to his face as he wondered what MacGyver would think of his handiwork. He had managed to dig out the mortar around a line of bricks a foot long in length. One of the bricks was ready to be teased out. Castle resisted the urge to pull it out. He could wait to see what was on the other side of the wall. He needed to rest.

Slowly Castle turned around and rested his back against the area he had been working. A rumble in his stomach reminded him that it had been some time since he had been fed. He could not be sure how long it had been since his last meal but from the sounds emanating from his stomach it may have been a while. He was feeling thirsty as well. He had finished the last of the water in the cup not long after he had started on the wall.

He could not help but wonder if they were going to feed him or not. What did it mean them not bringing him any food for some time? Had they simply forgotten or did it hold more sinister motives?

He closed his eyes and tried not to dwell on those thoughts. Think happy thoughts he told himself, think happy thoughts. Into his mind came the images of his two favourite women. Seeing them brought a smile to his face. Sleep claimed him easily...

_...Castle was feeling a little self conscious in the three-piece suit he was dressed in. The trousers seemed a little too tight for his liking and he was missing the suspenders that he normally wore. As they walked along the carpeted corridor the sound of the chamber music was growing. The walls of the corridor were covered in red velvet with large paintings of lords and ladies dressed in their finery on prominent display._

_Castle glanced at his companion and couldn't help but smile. Alexis looked pretty as a picture in the frilly hooped pink dress. There were curls in her long red hair that made her look both younger and older in a way he could not describe._

"_Nervous?" He enquired._

"_Excited." Alexis replied with a smile ever widening._

"_Just so you remember we're here to find Badger's contact."_

"_How can I forget?" Alexis retorted rolling her eyes._

_Their pace slowed down as they reached the head of the line. Alexis smiled at the major domo standing guard at the entrance. She handed the man the invitation._

_Kate felt right at home in the middle of this ball. She was dancing with Dr Josh Davidson._

"_You belong here, Kate." Josh said, an earnest look on his face._

"_Do I?" _

"_Yes you do." _

_Kate smiled and nodded to a lady who danced by._

"_Kate, I'm offering you a life." Josh continued, trying not to look annoyed that she was not paying him the proper attention. "You can live here on Persephone as my personal companion."_

_That caught Kate's attention. She turned to look at him._

"_You are generous man Josh." She said evenly._

"_That is not a yes."_

_Kate allowed a small smile to reach her lips. "It's not a 'no' either."_

"_You belong here, not on that flying piece of go-se. You see that don't you?_

"_Josh, language." Kate chided him gently._

"_What? 'Piece of go-se'? But it is a piece of go-se."_

_The Serenity could be described as many things but to Kate it was a home of sorts and she did not take too kindly when others described it in the manner Josh had. She kept her true feelings behind the mask of the smile she wore._

_It was at that moment when the major domo announced the arrival of the latest guest._

"_Miss Alexis Castle and escort!"_

_Kate suddenly turned to the entrance to see Alexis slowly enter the ball room. She paused at the top of the steps taking in all the finery and a smile on her face. A moment later from behind her came Captain Rick Castle._

"_Alexis?" Kate said as she stared. "Oh, go-se." She muttered under her breath._

"_Language Kate." Josh chuckled._

_Kate shot him a glare as she turned to watch the new arrivals._

_Castle took hold of Alexis' hand and they moved slowly into the ballroom._

"_Now you will behave yourself, wont you?" Alexis said._

"_Don't I always?"_

_Alexis shot him a pointed look. Castle shrugged and then turned his attention back to his trousers._

"_Does this uh...does this seem kind of tight?" He asked._

"_Shows off your backside." Alexis replied but her attention was drawn elsewhere. "Did you see the chandelier? It's hovering."_

_Castle's eyes rose skyward to gaze at the huge circular chandelier as it slowly rotated casting its light._

"_What's the point of that, I wonder?" Castle replied as he watched the chandelier. "I mean I see how they did it. I just aint getting the why."_

"_These girls have the most beautiful dresses. And so do I. How about that?" Alexis said excitedly as she gazed at all the women dressed in all their finery."_

"_Yeah, well, just be careful. I had to cheat Badger out of good money to by this frippery, and you're supposed to make me look respectable."_

_Alexis eyed him. "Yes sir, Captain Tight-Pants."_

_Together they slowly circulated around the ball room. Castle was looking for the man he had come here to see while Alexis was more intent at gazing at the women and their dresses and the men in their finery._

"_Lex help me find our man, Harrow." Castle said. _

"_And Kate. We should look for Kate, right?" Alexis said. "Just to say hello."_

"_If we find her." Castle said in a low voice._

"_What is she wearing?"_

"_Gold I think."_

_They walked further into the ball room._

"_Help me find our man. He's supposed to be older, kind of stocky, wears a red sash crossways."_

"_Why does he do that?" Alexis questioned._

"_Maybe he won the Miss Persephone pageant?" Castle shot back. "Just help me look."_

"_Is that him?" _

_Alexis pointed in the direction of where a long table was festooned with plates of delicious looking food. A tall man in a long silk jacket and turban stood beside the table. Castle looked to where Alexis was pointing and then looked back at the young girl._

"_That's the buffet table." he said simply._

"_Well how can we be sure, unless we question, it?" Alexis beamed. She released his arm and made towards the buffet table._

_Castle let out a low sigh. He realised that Alexis was star struck by the ball. He would have a better chance of finding the contact by himself. He watched her for a moment to make sure she was okay before he turned and headed in another direction. _

_As he moved about he caught sight of Kate dancing with Dr Davidson. He could not help but watch her as she moved around the dance floor. She looked so elegant in the dress she wore, so graceful in the way she glided...so beautiful. There was a smile on her face but it seemed to him that it was forced. The look on the doctor's face was that of some one who knew he was dancing with the most beautiful woman in the room. There was a shade of arrogance on his face as well like some trophy hunter who had finally captured a long sought after prize._

_A whisper of jealousy rose within Castle as he watched. He fought it down but was not sure if that emotion was squared away and secured. Quickly he turned away from the dance floor and continued his search for the man he had come to see._

_His search lasted a few minutes until he espied a likely candidate standing on the sidelines of the dance floor watching the dancing with a look on his face that showed boredom and amusement at the same time. The man was old and stocky with a round face with heavy jowls. He sported a red sash with medals attached to it. Here goes nothing, Castle thought to himself as he approached the man._

"_Beg pardon, but would you be Mr Warrick Harrow?" Castle asked in a low voice._

"_Sir Warrick Harrow." The man replied, eyeing Castle cautiously. "The Sash."_

"_The sash?" Castle looked a little confused._

"_It indicates lord-hood."_

_Castle nodded his understanding. "And it's...it's doing a great job."_

_Sir Warrick regarded Castle with barely concealed disdain. He was ready to dismiss him but Castle jumped in._

"_Sir, my name's Rick Castle, I captain a ship, name of Serenity."_

_Sir Warrick continued to look at Castle but did not speak._

"_I mention this sir, because I have been led to believe you want to move some property. I'm told that you have some property that requires shipment off-world discreet like." Castle said in a low voice as he glanced about to make sure they were not overheard._

_Sir Warrick's eyes narrowed._

"_I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about young man." he said. "I'm an honest man."_

"_Seems to me there's nothing dishonest to getting your goods to people what need them."_

_Sir Warrick continued to regard Castle. After a moment or two he slowly nodded his head as if he had reached some kind of decision._

"_Whom do you represent?" Sir Warrick asked._

"_Represent is not exactly the..."_

"_Don't waste my time, young man." Sir Warrick snapped._

"_Fellow called Badger."_

_Sir Warrick nodded his head. "I know him. I think he's a psychotic low life."_

_Castle grinned a little. "And I think calling him a psychotic low life is an insult to the psychotic low life community."_

_Sir Warrick allowed an amused smile to settle on his face._

"_But the deal is solid." Castle added._

_Castle glanced about him and saw Kate and Josh approach them. Castle's eyes focused on Kate. His opinion of a little earlier was confirmed now that she was up close. He had to remind himself to breathe. _

"_I'm sorry to interupt, Sir Warrick." Josh said as he extended his hand to the lord. "I know you from the club, I believe."_

_The two men shook hands. Kate shot Castle one of her death ray looks before she smiled and glanced at Josh._

"_Captain, this is Dr Joshua Davidson. Josh this is Captain Rick Castle." She said, introducing the two men._

_Josh was taller than Castle and he looked disdainfully on the ship captain._

"_Pleased to meet ya." Castle said turning on the charm. It did not escape Castle's notice that the man did not extand his hand to shake. He decided to let that slight go. "Kate I didn't realise you were going to this party."_

"_It's the only party." Kate shot back._

_Castle nodded his head. "And I can see why. How about that floating chandelier?" He looked at Josh and shot him another smile. "Almost outshines our girl here."_

_Castle's eyes caught sight of the possessive grip Josh had on Kate's arm. His fingers were digging deep into her flesh. It took almost all of his self control not to slug the other man._

"_Josh? Can I call you Josh?" Castle said. "Kate has spoken of you to me. She made a point of mentioning your generosity. Given that, I'm sure you wont mind if I ask Kate the favour of a dance?"_

_Josh glared at the ship captain but remembering his manners, nodded his head._

"_Of course." he said._

_Castle beamed at the doctor and then led Kate to the dance floor. He could feel the man looking daggers at him but he did not care. Castle had a minor victory and he would take them where and when he could regardless if they were big or small._

"_You're a brave man." Sir Warrick remarked, amused._

"_I know what's mine." Josh hissed as he glared in Castle's direction._

_Reaching the middle of the dance floor Castle realised with some surprise that he actually knew this dance. In the back of his mind he had been worrying that he might embarrass himself and more importantly embarrass Kate with some mistep. For a few moments they moved in time to the music in silence._

"_What are you doing here, Rick?" Kate asked, breaking the silence between them._

"_Business, same as you." Castle said. "I was talking to a contact about a smuggling job and you came over."_

"_You were staring at me." She accused._

"_I saw you is all." Castle smiled at her. "You stand out."_

_Kate rolled her eyes in a way that he always found appealing._

"_In this company, Rick, I believe you're the one who stands out."_

"_Well then, maybe I just wanted to see a professional at work." Castle leered at her. "Is this the hardest part, would you say, or does that come later?"_

_Kate stared angrily back at Castle as they continued to move on the dance floor._

"_You have no call to try and make me ashamed of my job. What I do is legal. And how's that smuggling going?"_

"_My work's illegal but at least it's honest."_

"_What?" Kate was shocked by what he said. She stared at him._

"_Well this, the lie of it." Castle continued quickly. "That man parading you around on his arm as if he actually won you, as if he loves you and everyone here actually going along with it."_

_He saw the heat rise on her cheeks. He knew he might have gone a little too far and hurt her but he could not stop himself even if he wanted to._

"_These people like me and I like them." Kate said in an even tone, restraining her sudden anger. "I like Josh too by the way."_

_Castle nodded his head. "Sure, what's not to like. I'm liable to sleep with him myself."_

_That remark earned him another roll of her eyes._

"_And he likes me too." Kate said ignoring his jibe. "Whether you see it or not. He's made me an offer."_

_Castle raised his eyebrows in a questioning look._

"_You may think he doesn't honour me, but he wants me to live here. I'd be his personal companion. I could belong here. Call me pretentious but there is some appeal to that."_

_He felt his heart sink. He did not want to hear this. He did not want to contemplate sailing through the black without Kate somewhere close by. He considered her a part of the crew of Serenity, a part of his family. Despite his feelings he also knew that she was an independent woman. She could decide what she wanted to do._

"_You're right. Got no call to stop you." He said with a sigh. "You've got the right to a decent life."_

_Kate was a little taken aback by his sudden confession. She had been gathering her anger ready to stand her ground and fight him. She had not expected this sudden change of tack. Was that a look of disappointment in those blue eyes of his, she wondered. Quickly she recovered her wits and changed the subject._

"_I see Alexis is here." Kate said._

_Castle smiled and cast a look in the direction where Alexis was holding court. She was surrounded by a group of men, both old and young, hanging onto every word she said. He had no doubt she was talking about the only subject that she had no peer. Engines. It never failed to amaze him how such a young woman could acquire such a vast knowledge about ship's engines and engines in general. His smile deepened at her radiant smile._

"_You should have seen her when I told her that she could have that layer cake she's wearing." Castle said turning his attention back to Kate._

"_I think she looks adorable." Kate remarked with a smile._

"_Yeah." Castle agreed. "But I never said it."_

_They both laughed._

_The music was drawing to a close and with it the dance. Castle stumbled over a dance step and bumped into Kate. They both started laughing at his poor dancing skills._

"_It's possible you were right, and this ain't my kind of party." He said with a laugh. This made Kate laugh even more. He loved the sound of her laughter._

_As they stood on the dance floor laughing Josh came barging in and shoved Castle aside and grabbed Kate roughly by the arm pulling her away._

"_Whoa there." Castle said annoyed at the intrusion. "There ain't no need for hands on."_

_Josh stared angrily at Castle. "Excuse me, she's not here with you Captain. She's mine."_

"_Yours?" Castle exclaimed, his face darkening. "She don't belong to nobody."_

"_Money changed hands, which makes her mine tonight." Josh said angrily. He moved closer to where Castle stood, dragging Kate with her. "And no matter how you dress her she's still..."_

_Josh did not get the chance to finish the sentence. He found himself sailing across the dance floor thanks to the hard fist in his face that Castle delivered. A couple of men bent down to assist the fallen doctor. Castle glared at him. He looked over to a shocked looking Kate. A smile came to his face._

"_Turns out it is my kind of party." He said grinning._

"_Oh Rick." Kate rolled her eyes and shook her head._

"_What? The man was out of line." Castle told her as if that was all the explanation that was need._

_Josh shrugged off the hands reaching down to assist him. He rose to his feet without anyone's assistance. He wiped the blood from his nose. His eyes widened in anger at the sight of his blood staining his hand. He looked at Castle._

"_I accept." he shouted._

"_That's great." Castle said turning from Kate to look at the doctor. "What?"_

_A uniformed gentleman stepped between the two protagonists._

"_There has been a challenge." The man called out._

"_What? You talking about a fight?" Castle said. A bigger smile came to his face. He took of his jacket. "Let's get out of here."_

_Kate came up to him. A look of deep concern etched on her face._

"_It's not a fist fight, Rick."_

"_The duel will be met tomorrow morning." The uniformed gentleman called out._

"_Why wait?" Castle replied, he looked around. "Where's that guard? He collected a whole of mess of pistols."_

_The uniformed gentleman looked directly at Castle. A small smile settled on his face._

"_If you require it, any gentleman here can give you use of a sword."_

"_Use of a sword..wha?"_

_Alexis having witnessed the fight came running over to where Castle was standing._

"_What's going on Captain?" She asked, concerned._

"_I'm not right sure." Castle said, he looked to Sir Warrick. "What's going on?"_

_Sir Warrick had an amused look on his face. He hadn't wanted to come to this ball but his rank and position made it mandatory. He had been expecting another boring night but that expectation had suddenly changed._

"_You'll be put up in lodgings for the night, so you don't disappear." Sir Warrick informed him. "I wouldn't blame you, incidentally. Davidson maybe a spoiled dandy, but he's an expert swordsman. He's killed a dozen men with a long blade. You're the only one gave him a reason."_

_Castle could not keep the look of exasperation from his face._

"_This is some joke, right?"_

"_He will need a second." Kate said addressing the lord._

"_What's that?" Castle demanded._

"_I'll take on the job." Sir Warrick declared._

_Castle looked to Kate for an explanation._

"_He fights if you refuse."_

_Josh had reached the entrance. He had cleaned up his bloody nose as best he could. He looked to where Kate was standing._

"_Kate, come with me please." He called out._

_Castle turned from Kate to look at Sir Warrick._

"_You taking on this job...being my second...does this mean we're in business?" he asked. _

"_It means that you are in mortal danger, young man." Sir Warrick said, smiling. "But you mussed up Davidson's face, and that has endeared you to me somewhat. You might even give him a fight before he guts you."_

_Josh became impatient that Kate had not moved._

"_Kate! Now!" he screamed._

_Kate looked at Josh and then back at Castle. Indecision and concern writ large across her face. Slowly she started moving away from the captain. Castle watched her as she made her way to where Josh was standing. She turned her head to look back at Castle. Was that an apologetic look in her eyes, he wondered?_

_Alexis let out a loud and long sigh._

"_Up until the punching, it was a real nice party." She declared_

_XXX_

_The lodgings that had been provided him by Josh Davidson were luxurious and spacious. A proper guest lodgings. He could get quite used to it under other circumstances he had thought to himself when he had inspected it. The bed looked more than comfortable, almost fit for a king but he did not try it. Sleep was the last thing on his mind on this night. Food and refreshments had been provided but they remained untouched. He had lost his appetite as the enormity of what had happened in the ball room sunk in. _

_Castle had found a long curved sword and decided he might as well try and get some practise. The fearsome looking sword felt heavy in his hand as he swung it back and forth. He did not much like swords at the best of times. Give me a good trusty pistol any time, he thought to himself as he slashed the air with the blade._

_Kate opened the door to the lodgings and slowly entered. She found Castle with his back to the door waving the sword back and forth._

"_Rick?" She said._

_The sound of her voice startled Castle as he swung the sword in a wide arc. The sword lodged itself in the pillar that Kate was standing next to._

"_Whoa!" Castle exclaimed, shocked that he almost decapitated Kate. "What are you doing here?"_

"_Josh is a heavy sleeper the night before a big day." Kate replied with a shrug as she moved further into the room. "He's got that killing in the morning and a haircut later."_

_Castle could not help but grin at her. "Such a comfort , having friends visit at time like this."_

_Kate looked over the room and seemed to nod her head in approval._

"_I knew the accommodations would be nice. Josh doesn't skimp."_

_Castle had to use both hands to remove the sword from the pillar. He finally managed to pull it out. _

"_I don't suppose I like being kept by him as much as other do." Castle dropped the sword, and turned his attention to her. She stood with her back to him. "So, how come you're still attached to him?"_

_Kate turned her head to look over her shoulder at him. Her green eyes were dark with anger. "Because it's my decision, not yours."_

"_I thought he made it pretty clear he has no regard for you."_

_Kate slowly turned her body to face him fully. The anger had slowly drained from her face. A small smile played at the corners of her mouth._

"_You did manage to push him into saying something, yes. Made a nice justification for the punch."_

"_Well he insulted you. I hit him." Castle shrugged his shoulders. "Seemed like the thing to do."_

_He took a couple of steps towards her but stopped suddenly and let out a sigh. He ran his hand over his face, rubbing it vigorously._

"_Why'd this get so complicated?" He said in a low voice._

"_Well it's about to get simpler." Kate said. "There's a back door. I've convinced the night porter to let us out."_

"_Whoa! I'm not running off." Castle declared. "I don't know what you got into your head but I didn't do this to prove some kind of point to you."_

_The anger returned to Kate as she stared back at him. She put her hands on her hips._

"_So why are you doing this, Rick?"_

"_I thought I was defending your honour." Castle replied. He shrugged his shoulders again. "And I never back down from a fight."_

"_Yes you do!" Kate retorted, her voice rising. "You do it all the time!"_

"_Yeah, well...but I'm not backing down from this one."_

_Kate stared back at him and saw the look of defiance etched deeply on his face. She had seen that look too many times and knew that nothing would change his mind now that it was set. It touched her that he would willingly defend her. It was mad and foolish but touching. He had no idea what he was about to confront and she knew she had to try._

"_He's an expert swordsman, Rick." Kate said as she moved towards him. She motioned with her towards the pillar. "You had trouble with the pillar. How will your death help my honour?"_

_Castle moved away from Kate and went to a sideboard where there were a number of swords laying there._

"_Well I plan on having it be his death, Kate." He looked back at her and grinned. Then he waggled his eyebrows. Kate rolled her eyes at him. Turning back to the swords he picked up a likely looking sword. "That's why I need lessons."_

_Castle turned and faced her. "I figure you know how, being an educated woman, and all."_

_A confident grin appeared on his face as he looked at her. He tossed her the sword he had selected. Kate caught it effortlessly. There was no way she could dissuade him from the course of action he had chosen. No matter what she said to him his mind would not bend. Realising this she decided to help him as best she could._

_For the next ten minutes perhaps more Kate gave him the benefit of what little experience she had in sword fighting. It had only taken her a moment to realise that Castle had no idea how to handle himself in a sword fight. He constantly lunged at her swinging his sword wildly and she always easily stepped out of the way of the blow and landing the point of her sword on various parts of his body. Other times she effortlessly parried his sword with a flick of her wrist. There was no way in the world that she could teach him anything in the short time before dawn. A sadness descended over her as she sparred with him. She schooled her face not to let her true feelings show._

_They stood at opposite ends about ten feet apart. _

"_Attack!" Kate commanded._

_Castle nodded once and lunged at her swinging his sword. At first he had been a little tentative sparring with her, fearing he might hurt her but he quickly had learned that Kate could handle herself with a sword. He had lost count the number of times the point of her sword had found its mark. He was staring to feel like a human pin cushion._

_Reaching her he brought the sword round only to find nothing but air. Once more he was startled to find that she had side-stepped him. As he moved past her Kate brought the flat of the sword and smacked him on his backside. There had been some force behind the blow and it stung him. He swung around looking startled. He refrained from rubbing his ass._

"_How did I avoid that?" Kate said._

"_By being fast like a freak?" Castle offered._

"_No, because you always attack the same way, swinging from the shoulder like your were chopping wood." She waved the sword in the same manner he had been wielding to illustrate what she meant. "You have to thrust with the point sometimes, or swing from the elbow."_

"_Swinging from the shoulder feels stronger." Castle told her pouting._

"_It's also slower, Rick." Kate replied. "You don't need strength as much as speed. We're fragile creatures. It takes less than a pound of pressure to cut skin."_

"_You know that?" Castle shot back. "They teach you that in whore Academy?"_

_Kate glared back at him for that jibe. She tossed aside the sword in her hand. Slowly she shook her head him._

"_You have a strange sense of nobility, Rick." She said the anger returning to her voice. "You'll lay a man out for calling me a whore, and yet you keep calling me one to my face."_

"_I might not show respect for your job" He nodded his head, as if he was agreeing with what she had said. "But he didn't respect you. That's the difference, Kate. He doesn't even see you."_

"_Well I guess death will solve the issue to everyone's satisfaction." Kate retorted._

"_This yu bun duh duel is the result of the rules of your society, not mine." Castle's face darkened._

"_You're always breaking the rules, Rick, no matter what society you're in." Kate said unable to keep the exasperation from her voice. She glared at him. "You don't get along with ordinary criminals either, which is why you're constantly getting into trouble."_

"_You think following the rules will buy you a nice life, even if the rules make you a slave."_

_Kate turned away from him and started to make her way to the door. Castle watched her. He hated himself for what he had said. He hated that they had argued. He hated the way she could conjure all manner of emotions within him that no other woman could do. If this was to be his last day, he hated that they would part in anger. He reined in his anger._

"_Kate," he called out in a low voice. Kate stopped but did not turn around. "Don't take his offer."_

"_What?" Kate turned around._

"_Don't do it."_

_Kate's eyebrows rose in a questioning quirk. She saw his lips curved into the beginnings of a smile._

"_In the case it happens it means he's the fella who killed me. And I don't like fellas that kill me, in general." Suddenly his face turned serious. "I said before I don't have call to stop you, and it's true, but anyways, don't."_

_Kate looked at him wide-eyed with surprise._

"_I...I...need to get back." She stammered. "He'll be up early._

"_Right." Castle nodded his head. "He's got that big day."_

_XXX_

_Castle couldn't help but think as he stood in the clearing looking up at the clear blue sky that it was not such a bad day to die. At least the sun was up and it wasn't raining. He would have hated to have fought in the rain. There was something to be said about dying with the sun on your face. He looked to the gathered witnesses who were standing near the trees. There seemed to be more than a few who had come to watch the entertainment. Many of the faces he recognised from the ball from the night before._

_He saw Kate standing beside Sir Warrick. The lord was dressed in less formal clothes but no less expensive. Castle's eyes came to rest on Kate and not for the first did he wonder at how she managed to look so beautiful in the morning. He gave her a confident smile. She smiled back a weak kind of smile that was full of concern and worry._

_With a swish of the sword that had been leant to him by Sir Warrick Castle confronted his opponent. Josh was dressed in a silk shirt, vest and black trousers. There was an arrogant smile on his face as if this duel was a mere trifle that would not last long. Castle did not waste time, he launched into attack. The clash of swords rang loudly in the clearing as the two men sparred. A lucky strike from Castle drew blood from Josh._

"_Best be careful, Josh." Castle chuckled. "Hear these things are sharp."_

_The combatants engaged again._

"_He think's he's doing well, doesn't he?" Sir Warrick said to Kate, his eyes not leaving the two men in the middle of the clearing._

"_He's being toyed with." Kate said in a whipser, horrified at what she was witnessing and unable to do anything._

_Castle lunged at Josh and opened himself up. Josh, with a smirk on his face, slashed at Castle's sword arm drawing blood. Castle winced and stepped back. Instinctively he covered with shallow wound with his free hand. He grinned back at Josh and suddenly lunged at him. Josh parried the flailing blows as if he was swatting at flies. The two men stepped back to catch their breath. Josh took that moment to take a further step back and put both his hands behind his back, offering Castle his open chest._

"_Oh what's he doing?" Sir Warrick wondered aloud._

_Kate stared in shock. "Don't fall for that!" she called out._

_Seeing his opportunity Castle rushed at Josh. Josh spun around and quickly stabbed Castle in the abdomen. Castle let out a loud gasp of pain. He knew that this was a serious wound. His free hand went to the wound and clamped it in the vain hope of stopping the pain and bleeding. He slowly staggered about, trying to catch his breath and ignore the pain._

"_Well this isn't going to take long." Sir Warrick remarked to no one in particular._

_Castle was in pain, blood was seeping slowly through his fingers from the wound to his side. He had never been one to back down once he was in a fight. He had always prided himself on his abilities to get out of tough spots. It had not taken him long to realise that this was probably the toughest spot he had ever been in. He knew full well that his life was on the line here, the look in Josh's eyes told him that in no uncertain terms. The man looked positively gleeful._

_Josh slowly moved towards the staggering Castle._

"_We're coming to the end, Miss." Sir Warrick said turning to look at Kate. "You might not want to watch."_

_Kate could not look away even if she wanted to. She stared at the two men in the clearing. Her heart was racing. She could hardly breathe as she knew what was going to happen next._

_Castle lifted up his sword to block and and parry Josh's blows. Castle found himself knocked to his knees. He tried to lift his sword again but Josh's boot stamped down hard on the blade breaking it at the hilt. Josh's sword point hovered just and inch from Castle's exposed throat._

_Kate gasped and took a step forward but Sir Warrick pulled her back. She tried to shrug him off but he was stronger than he looked. He held her back. Tears rose in her eyes. No matter how irritating or exasperating Castle could be or the countless times he made her angry with his insensitive words she did not want to see him die here. She did not want him to die._

"_Josh, wait!" Kate shouted. "I'll stay here, exclusive to you. Just let him live."_

_Castle looked at the sword hovering just a mere inch from his throat and then up at the man holding the sword. Josh had a look of contempt on his face as if the life before him was nothing to him. At Kate's declaration Josh dragged his eyes from his latest victim to look at her. _

_Castle almost grinned when he saw his opportunity present itself. Summoning what little strength he had left he knocked the sword from Josh's hand. He rose to his feet and clubed the man with the broken sword still in his hand. Josh staggered back from the shock of the blow. Castle used his boot to kick up the fallen sword into his hand. With a deftness he did not know he possessed Castle threw the sword at Josh striking him in the chest._

_A look of astonishment crossed Josh's face as he fell to the ground. Astonishment transformed into anger. He pulled out the sword and threw it away. Castle staggered towards him and gathered up the discarded sword and returned the favour. He held the sword point at Josh's throat._

"_You have to finish it young man. You have to finish it." Sir Warrick said walking up to the victorious Castle. "For a man to lie beaten, and yet breathing? It makes him a coward."_

"_It's humiliation." Kate added._

_Castle had not taken his eyes off the fallen Josh. His cheek was bleeding from the deep gash the broken sword had left. Castle's sword did not waver._

"_Sure, it's humiliating. Having to lie there while a the better man refuses to spill your blood." Castle said panting from the fight. "Mercy is the mark of a great man." Castle removed the sword from Josh's throat only to jab him in the stomach. "Guess I'm just a good man." Castle grinned. He poked Josh in the stomach again. "Well, I'm all right."_

_Castle tossed aside the sword in his hand and fell into Kate's arms. He gave her a grateful smile as they started to move away._

"_Kate! Kate!" Josh shouted angrily._

"_You lost her lad, be gracious." Sir Warrick advised with some amusement._

"_You set this up, whore." Josh shouted. "After I bought and paid for you. I should have uglied you up so no one else would want you."_

_Castle looked down at Kate. "See how I'm not punching him? I think I've grown." he chuckled. Kate looked at him and rolled her eyes. He smiled._

"_Well get ready to starve. I'll see that you never work again." Josh screamed._

_Kate stopped. She made sure that she held Castle so that he did not fall down. She turned her head to look back at the fallen man._

"_That's not how it works, Josh." she called out. "You see, you've earned yourself a black mark in the client registry. No Companion is ever going to contract with you again."_

"_That's telling him." Castle whispered in her ear._

_Sir Warrick looked down at Josh._

"_You'll have to rely on your winning personality to get women." Sir Warrick laughed. "God help you."_

_The lord moved away from Josh and the people that surrounded him and walked briskly to catch up with Castle and Kate._

"_You didn't have to wound that man." he said._

"_Yeah, I know, it was just funny." Castle replied._

"_You willing to fight that hard to protect my property, I'll have it in your hold by midnight." Sir Warrick announced._

_Castle smiled at the lord. They shook hands sealing the deal. Sir Warrick walked off leaving Castle and Kate to make their way back to the ship alone._

_Castle smiled as he tightened his hold around Kate trying to put too much weight on her._

"_Mighty fine shindig." He declared. His smile deepened when he heard Kate laugh._

_XXXX_

_Castle sat on the walkway above the cargo hold, his legs dangling over. Sitting beside him was Kate. She was dressed in a red silk robe that accentuated the green of her eyes. He filled a cup from the glass jug of wine that was next to him and passed it to her. She took a sip of the wine and made a face. He filled another cup for himself._

"_Thanks for the wine." Kate said. "It's...very fresh."_

_Castle raised his cup. "Here's to Alexis and her inter engine fermentation system." he announced._

_They clinked cups. Kate saw Castle wince._

"_Rick are you in pain?" Kate asked concern in her voice._

"_Absolutely." Castle replied. "I got stabbed, you know? Right here."_

_With his free hand Castle lifted up his shirt to reveal the bloody bandage taped to his abdomen. _

"_I saw." Kate did not look at the bandage._

_Castle took a sip from his wine and gazed at the cargo hold._

"_I don't care much for fancy parties. Too rough."_

"_It wasn't entirely a disaster."_

"_I got stabbed! Right here!" Castle made to lift his shirt again to show her his bandage._

_Kate shook her head. "You also lined up exciting new crime." She pointed out._

_Castle took another sip of his wine._

"_It's good to have cargo." He said. "Makes us a target for every other scavenger out there, though. But sometimes that can be fun."_

_They sat in companionable silence drinking their wine, gazing at the cargo hold and enjoying each other's company. Kate turned to look at him. She could not help but smile at him._

"_I am grateful, you know, for the ill-conceived and high handed attempt to defend my honour, although I didn't want you to." Kate said quietly._

_Castle slid his eyes in Kate's direction and looked at her for a moment before turning away. "Gracious as that is, looking back I probably should have stayed out of your world."_

"_My world? If that is what it is. I wasn't going to stay, you know."_

"_Yeah, why is that?"_

_Kate continued to smile. She tilted her head a little as she looked at him. "Oh, some one needs to keep Alexis out of trouble." She said. "And all my things are here. Besides, why would I want to leave Serenity?"_

_Castle thought about what she said for some moments and then finally shrugged his shoulders._

"_Can't think of a reason."_

_Kate reached over and put her hand on his knee and gave it a squeeze. Castle looked down and a smile came to his face. He transferred the cup to his other hand and then placed his now free hand over hers and took hold of it, squeezing it gently..._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**As always your thoughts and opinions would be greatly appreciated.**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

"Sergeant, it's all right." Captain Montgomery said into his phone. He was standing in the observation room with his back to the window. He could not help but smile at hearing the report from the agitated Sergeant Mavros on the other end of the line. "Don't make any reports, sergeant. Your primary task is to look after Castle's family. Let me worry about Detective Beckett. Is that clear?"

Montgomery did not bother to hear Sergeant Mavros' response before he disconnected the call and put the phone in his pocket. He could only shake his head. One of these days he would love to hear how Beckett managed to get out of Castle's loft without the protection detail getting getting wind of it. He was sure it would make for a pretty interesting story over a few drinks.

The amused smile faded as he turned and moved closer to the window gazing at the man sitting in the interrogation room. The man was Jorge Gonzales. He had been deposited in the interrogation room about an hour ago. Montgomery had been watching him for the past ten minutes.

Gonzales was a little below average height with short black hair. He was dressed in a black t-shirt and jeans. A thick gold chain and crucifix hung around his neck. Some time in the past he had taken to the weights and had baulked up. Montgomery suspected the bulging muscles had more to do to with steroids than just weights. His bare arms sported a whole series of lurid tattoos, naked women entwined with snakes and various colourful designs, not to mention a couple of gang tattoos. It was designed to intimidate.

Montgomery was not intimidated by this punk. To him Gonzales was nothing but a two bit hood who was used to getting his own way. Thought himself untouchable because he belonged to a gang. Probably even had delusions of becoming the leader of the with the enormous power that came with that position. The reality was that he was nothing but a minor drug dealer who had been promoted to the hired muscle, trusted enough only to run errands and break a few bones from time to time and destined to die in a pool of blood in some back alley as a result of some gang war.

Gonzales was starting to fidget. He was still wearing the handcuffs he had been brought in with. The smug, confident look that he had worn when had had been brought in was starting to fade the longer he waited alone in the interrogation room. He could see the anger building in the man's face.

The captain had interrogated a whole army of suspects over the years and as he watched the man in the room, studying him, he knew it would not take him long to break him down and get him to spill. Sure he might act tough and brazen it out for a while with idle threats and bravado but he was not the sharpest tool in the shed. In the end Gonzales would talk of that Montgomery sure.

The door to the observation room opened. Pulling himself from his reveries Montgomery turned to see who had come in. Detective Karpowski was holding several files in her hand.

"How's Officer Pickett?" Montgomery inquired.

"He'll live, sir." Karpowski replied with a small grin. "He'll have a nice shiner for a few days."

Montgomery nodded his head. Gonzales had put up a fight when they tried to bring him in and lashed out striking the patrolman in the face before he had been subdued. Montgomery could imagine the ribbing the man would get from his colleagues for a few days. Montgomery had copped a bit of ribbing from his colleagues back in the day when he had been a patrolman and had been clocked by a suspect who had been resisting arrest. All the same he was silently grateful that nothing worse had happened.

"I got his file, sir." Karpowski announced as she held out the file to the captain.

Montgomery took the file opened and quickly scanned it.

"Mostly nickel and dime stuff." The detective informed him. "Pushing and distributing."

Montgomery looked up from the file to Karpowski.

"I see there's a few attempted murder charges and a couple of rape charges." He remarked.

"A fine upstanding citizen." Karpowski said dead pan.

"None of those charges stuck."

"No sir."

"Witness intimidation?"

"I would bet my pay check on it, sir."

"So would I." Montgomery agreed. He closed the file. He turned to look at the man in the interrogation room.

"Gonzales' phone records, sir." She announced.

Montgomery took the offered file opened it and scanned the information. He stopped and looked up at Karpowski.

"He's made a few calls to Texas, I notice."

"Yeah but look further down the list."

Montgomery did.

"Mexico?"

Karpowski nodded her head. "And those calls were made after he received calls from the prison."

Montgomery nodded his head.

"He's also made a couple of trips over the border in the past month. No idea who he met up with."

"I'll bet a month's pay it was with who ever was on the other end of the line in Mexico." Montgomery remarked.

"Probably but we don't know who that person is." Karpowski said looking a little glumly.

Montgomery smiled at the detective. "Leave that to me, I'll see what I can do." He said.

Montgomery closed the file and looked at Karpowski.

"The tapes from the prison arrived yet?"

"Yes sir." Karpowski replied.

"What are you standing here for Detective?"

Montgomery motioned her to the door.

"What about him?" Karpowski jerked her thumb in the direction of Gonzales.

"The bastard can stew for a little while longer, detective."

Karpowski could not have agreed more with the captain. She gave Montgomery a curt nod and headed out of the room.

XXX

Montgomery should have been surprised at how quickly the email he had sent off to Agent Westfield had received a response. Nothing surprised him when it came to the mysterious agent. On leaving the observation room Montgomery had gone to his office and emailed the agent requesting any details he could provide on the Mexican telephone number that Gonzales had called. Less than ten minutes later came the response. Agent Westfield had given him a name.

He did a quick search and he found the information to go with the name he had been given. A cold shudder of dread went through him as he read the man's biography. The man was a real nasty piece of work.

Leaving his office Montgomery went over to where Detective Karpowski was listening to the tapes from the prison. He pulled a chair over and sat down ordering the detective to start the recordings from the beginning.

Montgomery let out a sigh of frustration after hearing the last phone call. For over half an hour he had been listening to the calls, each one several times over. What he had heard could be interpreted in many ways and a smart lawyer could present a very plausible and innocent explanation for each call to a jury. The captain had no doubt what was being discussed in those calls.

It had been a faint hope that they would find something useful in those calls. A little nugget amongst it all. Still it was frustrating that they did not get anything useful. Montgomery looked over to Detective Karpowski. The detective pursed her lips and shrugged his shoulders. Montgomery rose from the chair he had been sitting on.

"She's a cautious bitch." Karpowski remarked.

"Well, cautious or not, Detective, no one messes with my people and gets away with it. No one!" Montgomery growled with barely contained anger.

Karpowski was taken aback by the vehemence of the what Captain Montgomery had declared. She knew that he backed always his people. That was probably why most went that extra mile for him. Sure she had seen him angry, chewing out some hapless supervisory officer, detective or patrol officer over something they had done wrong. She even had been on the receiving end one time. Never in all the time she had been at the 12th had she seen such cold fury on his face.

A hesitant looking Detective Montego approached the captain. He held a sheet of paper in his hand.

"Excuse me Captain." He said and held out the sheet to Montgomery. "I ran Gonzales' financials and this popped up."

The Captain took the proffered sheet and looked at it. His eyebrows rose up.

"It just gets better and better." Montgomery muttered as he passed the sheet to Karpowski.

"Over the past four weeks Gonzales has received a total of $40,000 into his bank account." Montego said. "The transfers have come from a bank in Dubai but I don't think that's where it originated."

"Are you tracing the money?" Karpowski asked.

"Shapiro is on it right now, may take a while."

"Stay on it, both of you." Montgomery ordered.

Detective Montego nodded and returned to his desk.

Detective Karpowski rose from her chair. "Captain, shouldn't we hand this over to the FBI?" she ventured cautiously. "Isn't it their case now?"

Montgomery fixed her with a steely look.

"Castle is one our own. We will do this." He told her. "What we get out of Gonzales we will pass on to the FBI, detective."

"Yes sir." Karpowski replied immediately.

The captain gave her a nod. "Now, you ready to sit on the interrogation, detective?"

A look of surprise crossed Karpowski's face as she looked at the captain. She had expected to conduct the interrogation of Jorge Gonzales herself. Not once did she think that the captain was going to lead the interrogation.

"Y...yes, sir." She stammered.

Montgomery allowed a small humourless smile to appear on his face, understanding her surprise.

"I didn't get to be captain of this house just on my good looks, Detective." Montgomery told her.

"Yes, sir." Karpowski said.

Captain Montgomery approached the door that led into the interrogation room. He paused a moment to steel himself for the interrogation that was to come. He drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly letting go of the anger that churned inside him and got ready to confront Jorge Gonzales. He pushed the door open and walked into the room.

"I've been waiting in here for over an hour, man." Gonzales yelled. "What the f..."

"I'm Captain Montgomery." Montgomery interjected as he sat down opposite the man. Karpowski sat in the seat beside the Captain and placed the portfolio that she had brought in with her on the table.

Gonzales looked at the Captain and then over to Detective Karpowski.

"I want a lawyer."

"Why, are you wanting to confess to some crime?" The captain said.

Gonzales shrugged his shoulders. A smug grin appeared on his face.

"You're here for a bit of a chat, boy."

"Why would I want to have a talk with you?" Gonzales shot back. "I got nothing to say to you, man."

"I think you do, boy."

"Then you think wrong, man."

Montgomery allowed a small smile to appear on his face. He leaned back in his chair and cast a glance in the direction of Karpowski.

"Have you ever met a more dumb assed punk in all your life, Detective?"

Karpowski shook her head. "Can't say that I have Captain, can't say that I have."

"Hey, who you calling a dumb ass?"

"You, dumb ass."

Montgomery leaned forward in his chair resting his arms on the edge of the table and fixed Gonzales with a cold look.

"You're such a dumb ass boy that you have no idea what a mess of trouble you've landed in."

"That 'spose to intimidate me, man?" Gonzales snorted with derision. He leaned back in his chair and regarded the two police officers on the other side of the table with a look of contempt. "Not my fault that cop walked into my fist."

Montgomery laughed and shook his head. "Is that what you think you're here for?"

"What else would it be?" Gonzales shrugged.

"Assaulting a police officer is the least of your concerns, boy."

"What are you talking about man?" A look of confusion crossed Gonzales' face.

Montgomery glanced at Karpowski. "You want to tell him or shall I?"

"Mind if I do, Captain?"

The captain gestured with a wave his hand for the detective to go ahead.

"Aiding and abetting the commissioning of a kidnapping..."

"Kidnapping!" Gonzales exclaimed.

"Aiding and abetting the commissioning of a kidnapping across national borders." Karpowski said ignoring the interjection.

"What the hell are you talkin' about, man? I know nothing about no kidnapping!"

"What's the penalty for kidnapping a US citizen, detective?" Montgomery said smoothly.

"Last time I checked, captain it was a one way ticket to the lethal injection."

That was not technically correct but Gonzales did not know that and that was Montgomery was banking on. The smug look on Gonzales' face disappeared as the implications of what Karpowski had said finally sank in.

"I don't know anything about any kidnapping, man." Gonzales declared.

"We beg to differ, dumb ass." Montgomery told him contemptuously.

"Who the hell did I kidnap, man?" Gonzales challenged.

"The author Richard Castle."

"You got to be kidding me, right?" Gonzales scoffed. "I don't know him."

Montgomery nodded to Karpwoski. The detective opened the portfolio she had brought with her.

For the next ten minutes Karpowski produced Gonzales' phone records, showing him the phone calls he had made the prison and the calls he had made to Texas and Mexico. She also produced the bank statement showing the $40,000 deposited into his account. She questioned him about the

phone calls but Gonzales brazened it out by refusing to speak. She questioned him about the money but he did not say how he got it.

"This is all crap, you know that man?" Gonzales scoffed. "I don't have to tell you nothin'."

"Tell me about Hector Beltran." Montgomery said changing tack.

"Who?"

"You made a number of calls to him and you met up with him when you went down to Juarez."

"I don't know who you're talkin about, man. Never heard of him."

"What did you two talk about, boy?" Montgomery pressed.

"I said I never heard of him." Gonzales said his anger growing. "hey, you know what, I want a lawyer."

Montgomery leaned back in his chair and regarded Gonzales with a small smile on his face.

"I said I want a lawyer, man. Are you deaf or something?"

Montgomery let out a theatrical sigh as he looked at Karpowski.

"I guess we will have to hand this over to the Feds, detective."

"Looks like it Captain." Karpowski nodded.

"By the time your lawyer gets here the Feds will have taken you into Federal Never Never Land, boy." Montgomery said slowly as he looked at Gonzales. "You will disappear into some black hole, never to see the light of day, and where no lawyer will ever find you. I know they would be very eager to have a chat with you about Hector Beltran."

"You know how they're always keen to invoke the Patriot Act, Captain." Karpowski added helpfully. "No need for trials or lawyers and all that."

"I hope you like water boarding, boy." Montgomery chuckled.

A look of genuine fear flickered in Gonzales' dark eyes. Montgomery pressed on.

"It's up to you. Talk to us, tell us everything you know or you can take your chances with the Feds."

Gonzales did not reply. His eyes flickered from the captain to Detective Karpowski and back to the captain. After a few moments when Gonzales did not say anything Montgomery pushed himself out of his seat. Karpowski gathered up the evidence and returned it to the portfolio then rose to her feet.

"Wait, man." Gonzales called out.

Montgomery had reached the door. Slowly he turned around, folded his arms across his chest and looked at the man.

"If I tell you everything I know, what do I get in return?"

"I put in a good word with the DA, maybe do a nickel in jail time."

"Not much of a deal, man." Gonzales shook his head.

"Have it your way, dumb ass."

Montgomery had opened the door and was halfway out before Gonzales called out, desperation evident in his voice.

"Okay, okay I'll talk to you." He said.

Montgomery closed the door and faced Gonzales.

"So who ordered the kidnapping?" He asked.

"You all ready know who, man."

"Tell me the name."

Gonzales stared at the captain for several moments. Gone was the cocky look on his face. Slowly he shook his head not liking what he was being forced to do.

"It's Wyatt, Monica Wyatt." Gonzales said in a low voice.

Montogmery and Karpowski looked at each other. Karpowski thought she saw a gleam of triumph in the captain's eyes. It vanished as quickly as it appeared.

"No way am I going down for murder, man let me tell you." Gonzales added.

The captain's eyes widened with alarm.

"What did you say?"

"She wants Castle dead. She ordered his killing."

"You know that for sure?"

"Heard it from her own lips, man."

"When?"

Gonzales shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know. It's up to Beltran I reckon."

Karpowski for a split second thought Captain Montgomery would go over and grab Gonzales. She did see the anger clouding his face. She was not sure if he had gone over and attacked Gonzales that she would have lifted a finger to stop him. It was to his credit that he did not. He turned and looked at her.

"Get that son of a bitch's statement." He commanded.

"Yes sir." Karpowski returned to the desk and sat down.

Montgomery reached for his phone as he marched out of the interrogation room. He silently prayed he was not too late.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**I don't know if I'm completely happy with this chapter. I experienced a bit of writer's block. **

**I would be grateful to know what you think of my efforts.**

**Con**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Having returned from the meeting with Colonel Valentine, Kate Beckett should have been feeling upbeat and hopeful. Hopeful that Castle would be rescued soon and excited to be seeing him again soon. However she was feeling anything but. In the car ride back to the hotel she sat in the back seat silent, staring out the window, lost in thought. Esposito and Ryan had tried to engage her in conversation but her responses when she did bother to speak were monosyllabic that they quickly gave up trying.

At the hotel they had tried to entice her to join them for a bite to eat at the restaurant but she declined. She was not feeling hungry. Leaving them she headed up to her room.

Since leaving the meeting that familiar and unwelcome feeling of dread had returned to haunt her. Trying as hard as she could she could not shake it off. If anything it was much worse than that night back in her apartment. In an effort to distract herself she had called up Alexis and then Lanie.

Kate had not been able to tell them much despite all their questions because there had not been much to tell. Colonel Valentine had not exactly been forthcoming with details about the mission to rescue Castle. That had bothered her a little. It bothered her now even more. Now that she thought about it he had not told her where they were going to meet tomorrow.

Kate could have kicked herself for not asking about where they would meet and when. Something as simple as that and it had not occurred to her to ask. She had completely forgotten.

Looking at the clock on her phone Kate saw that it was eleven o'clock. She knew she should get some sleep. She had a feeling tomorrow would be a busy day. Though the call of sleep was strong and she was tired but she made no move to go to bed. She knew that she would not get much sleep. Instead she went and sat down at the small table.

She covered her face with her hands. Knowing that Castle wasn't all that far away just made her feel anxious and concerned. The feeling of dread did not help things. She did not want to think what was happening to him but those thoughts would not leave her head. It terrified her to think that he could be hurt. She was terrified that the rescue mission might fail.

What terrified her the most was the thought that she might not see Castle again. It scared her that she might never get the chance to tell Castle how she felt about him. What he means to her. It had to take Castle being kidnapped for her to realise how much he meant to her. There had been moments when she had overcome her reticence and had been on the verge of telling him but one thing or another seemed to get in the way. That summer when he had gone away to the Hamptons with his ex-wife still hurt even though she had forgiven him and allowed him back into her life.

Even though she had found Josh who provided some solace and comfort, it was always Castle who was never far from her thoughts. She did not want to think what her life would be like without in him in it.

The thought of never seeing Castle again simply scared her. Despite having her emotions held in check behind a dam wall they suddenly rose up and spilled over, overwhelming her. With her head still in her hand she started to cry. She could not control them and right at this moment in time she did not want to.

A soft knocking on the door caught her attention. Startled, she looked in the direction of the door. She didn't know how long she had been crying. She quickly wiped her tear stained face with a tissue from the box sitting on the table. She blew her nose and then slowly went to answer the door, hoping she looked presentable.

"Yo Beckett."

"What are you doing here?" Kate stepped back and pulled the door open further letting Esposito in.

"Ryan's on the phone to Jenny, thought I'd give them some privacy."

Beckett nodded her head. She didn't believe him.

Esposito turned to look at Kate. Even in the muted light of the room he did not fail to see that she had been crying.

"I just wanted to check in on you." Esposito confessed.

"Lanie talked to you." It was a statement not a question.

Esposito grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "Lanie's worried about you."

"Just Lanie?"

"Okay, yeah, me and Ryan were a little concerned too." Esposito said. "You're weren't very talkative in the car. And by the looks of things you've..."

"I'm fine, Esposito." She said cutting him off.

Kate was feeling a little embarrassed at having been caught crying. It was bad enough having a partial meltdown back at the precinct in front of everyone and now to be caught crying by Esposito it was just too much.

"Now why don't I believe you, girl?" he softened it with a knowing smile.

The look on Kate's face softened a little. She could not help but be touched for his concern. She may have been his boss but he looked after her as did Ryan. More often than not they treated her like a big sister. Sure they would tease and rib her from time to time but that was all in good fun because that's what brothers did. And like good brothers they looked after their sister.

"I'll be fine Javier." she said.

Esposito regarded her for a moment before he nodded his head.

"Okay. Better get some sleep Beckett." He told her. "I have a feeling tomorrow's going to be a busy day."

He started to make his way to the door.

"Javier." Beckett said.

Esposito stopped.

"Can we trust, Valentine?" It was a question that had been nagging at her in the back of her mind.

His eyebrows rose up on his face as he looked at her. He was surprised by her question. He took a step towards her.

"Look Beckett, the Colonel is one of the best." He said. "Yeah, I served with him so I know what I'm talking about."

"Thanks, Javier."

Esposito reached out and put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a comforting squeeze. "The number of people who I truly trust to have my back I can count on one hand." He said with a pointed look in her direction. "There's you, Kevin, Castle and Lanie... and Colonel Valentine."

Kate nodded her head and gave him a small smile of thanks.

"We are going to get Castle out, and bring him home, okay? Have no doubt."

Kate smiled and nodded her head, feeling a little bit better.

"Now, get some sleep, girl." He squeezed her shoulder one more time and then left.

XXX

Kate was sitting up on top of the bed staring at the television. It was a repeat of a baseball game she had found on one of the inhouse channels. She had the sound turned down and hoped the game would be distracting enough to keep her mind off the fears that lurked beneath the surface. Hopefully it would send her off to sleep.

A sharp urgent knock on the door had Kate snapping open her eyes. She had been slowly drifting off to sleep. Jumping off the bed she rushed to the door and opened it. A grim looking Colonel Valentine stood in the doorway. Standing behind him were Esposito and Ryan both looking a little sleepy. She wondered if they had managed to get any sleep.

"Come with me." Valentine announced crisply.

"I'll just get my things."

It took Kate less than a minute to switch off the television, grab her jacket and phone before she was flying out the door.

Five minutes later the group had emerged from the hotel and were walking to where a black SUV was waiting for them.

Kate's phone chimed once announcing a text message. She pulled the phone out of the pocket of her jacket and checked the new message. The message was from Captain Montgomery.

_**Monica Wyatt is behind the kidnapping.**_

Kate quickly sent a return message: _**Thanks. Send any further information ASAP.**_

"Monica Wyatt is behind Castle's kidnapping." Kate announced to her two partners. As they headed towards the black SUV.

"The Slice of Death case." Ryan remarked with a mirthless chuckle.

"How do do you know Beckett?" Esposito asked.

"The Captain sent the message."

"Who's Monica Wyatt?" Colonel Valentine inquired, glancing at Kate.

"A drug king ping that Castle and I arrested for murder a while back." Kate informed him.

"So it's revenge then?"

"Look's like it." Kate agreed.

The group reached the SUV. Colonel Valentine opened the back door for Kate to get in.

Her phone suddenly chimed again. She looked down at the new message.

_**Wyatt has ordered Castle's killing.**_

Kate let out a shocked gasp. She stared down at her phone.

"Beckett, you all right?" Esposito asked, even in the street lights he saw that her face had gone pale.

"They are going to kill him." She said in a low voice.

Ryan reached over and took the phone from Kate's hand and looked at the message. He showed the message to Esposito.

"Shit." Esposito muttered.

"Right, people load up." Valentine ordered as he started moving around the front of the SUV to jump into the front passenger seat. "Let's roll and don't spare the horses."

Ryan was the last to get in and the SUV was all ready moving before he had a chance to close the door. Once the door was closed the vehicle gathered momentum and quickly sped away from the hotel parking lot.

XXX

Kate did not know how long they had been driving. She had been staring out the window trying to control the fear that had taken a grip on her heart after reading Captain Montgomery's second text message. Both Esposito and Ryan sat in grim silence beside her.

She was drawn away from her thoughts when the vehicle slowed down and turned off the road. A sign on the edge of the road showed that they were entering the Fort Bliss Military Reservation. The SUV slowed down as it approached the small guard post. Valentine drew down his window and held out an ID to the approaching guard. The guard nodded his head stepped back motioned to his partner to raise the boom gate.

Once past the guard post the SUV picked up speed as it left the paved road and travelled on a dirt road. Driver and passengers were bounced around as the vehicle found every dip and rut on the road. The driver did not bother to offer any apology for the ride he was providing his passengers.

What made the experience hair raising was that that there were no street lights, they were travelling through desert scrub land. The driver only had the head the lights of the SUV to illuminate the path ahead of him. While most people confronted with such a situation would have backed off the speed, the driver driver kept his foot planted on the gas pedal. The Colonel had said not to spare the horses. What the three NYPD detectives did not know was that the driver knew this road like the back of his hand.

Kate had to grab hold of the handhold bar above her head stop herself from hitting her head on the roof. Looking across she saw Ryan had the same thoughts as clung on for dear life. Esposito stuck in the middle was not so fortunate. His head hit the roof a couple of times when the vehicle dipped and then seemed to fly over a part of the dirt road. She heard Ryan let out an amused chuckle when Esposito let out an expletive in Spanish when he hit his head again. He turned and glared at his partner. That only made Ryan laugh even more.

The roller coaster ride came to an end when the SUV pulled into a brightly lit parking lot where a number of vehicles were parked in front of a series of portable cabins. Before the SUV had come to a halt Valentine was out of his seat. The others followed suit as the Colonel marched towards the largest of the portable cabins. Valentine reached the door and held it open for the detectives to enter first.

Kate stared wide eyed at what she found in the windowless room. It was like a scene from some Hollywood movie. Along all the walls were desks with large high resolution flat screen computer monitors. All the desks were occupied with men and women either dressed in military fatigues or in jeans and tee shirts. Some were talking on headsets while others were busy typing away on the their keyboards. Taking it all in, Kate counted ten people.

"Welcome to my ops centre people." Valentine said as he came to stand beside Kate.

"Is this all for the mission?" Kate asked looking at the colonel.

"No, only half are part of the op." Valentine informed her. "The rest work here, we're just using the facilities."

A door opened and two men emerged from the other room. Kate took in the two men who approached. One man was as tall as the Colonel and dressed in military fatigues while the second man was a little shorter and was dressed in a green tee shirt and jeans. He wore designer glasses and looked more like a computer geek.

"This is my 2IC, Captain Jack Wesley." Valentine announced doing the introductions. The captain nodded his greetings. He looked over to Esposito and grinned seeing a familiar face.

"Good to see you Esposito." Captain Wesley said.

"Like wise, captain." Esposito replied.

"And this..." Valentine pointed to the second man, "...is Brains. The best Ops planner around."

The man called Brains acknowledged the praise with a modest nod of his head.

"Ready to brief?" Valentine asked.

"Yes Colonel" Captain Wesley replied. He motioned towards the room that he had emerged from.

Kate was first to enter and found it smaller than the previous previous room. In the middle of the room there was a large desk where there were several computers arrayed on it. On one wall was a large flat screen television. There several small versions on the other walls.

Captain Wesley moved to stand beside the large tv screen while Brains went to one of the computers. The three detectives stood on the other side of the desk facing the TV screen. Colonel Valentine stood beside Kate.

"Team Delta should be at the RV in about ten minutes, Colonel." Captain Wesley announced, checking his watch. "And the Observation Posts have gone active when you gave the stand to order."

Valentine nodded his head. He turned to look at Kate.

"We were going to initiate the mission tonight at 20.00 hours." He informed her. "However we received an intercepted a call from one of our friends that forced our hand."

Kate raised a questioning eyebrow at the Colonel.

"Just like the message from your captain."

Kate nodded her head in understanding.

Brains tapped on his computer and a a sharp but greenish image flashed upon the tv screen.

"Colonel you should take a look at this. This was taken a couple of hours ago from O.P. North." Brains said. "We believe this is the leader of the kidnappers."

All eyes turned to the TV and watched as the image focused quickly and zeroed in on the bald headed man. The man pulled out a packet of cigarettes and put one into his mouth. He lit up the cigarette and slowly exhaled.

"Who is he?" Valentine asked.

"That Colonel is Hector Luis Beltran." Brains informed him. "A real psychopath."

The name sounded familiar to the Colonel he looked to Brains.

"He was a captain in the Mexican army but was caught taking bribes from the drug cartels. He got court martialled and cashiered. He came back and murdered the people who prosecuted him and then murdered their families. Then he fled the country and surfaced over in Africa where he worked as a mercenary, from all reports he was involved in some of the more gruesome mass murders that took place there. He is also believed to have trained some terrorist groups in the Middle East and over in South East Asia. There are also some unconfirmed reports he trained some groups in Afghanistan."

Valentine shot Brains a look. "Go on." He said quietly.

"About three years ago he returned to Mexico where he joined the Juarez Cartel. He rose up through the ranks, mostly murdering any rivals that stood in his way and is now their head of security. One of his favourite forms of retribution is the decapitation of his victims."

"A real charmer." Valentine said grimly.

"Not one to tangle with lightly, Colonel."

Valentine nodded his head. It was good to know what they were up against.

"Do we know if Castle's still alive?" Esposito asked suddenly. He felt Kate's laser like glare on his for daring to ask such a question but he did not turn his head.

Brains tapped a couple of keys on his computer console. A moment later a picture came up on the large TV screen.

"This is an overhead infrared picture of the warehouse where Castle is located." Captain Wesley announced. "We got a loan of a UAV from Customs and Border Protection, it is on station as we speak. It will give us real time information."

Kate stared at the screen. She could see a number of heat spots indicating people. At the top of the picture there was a cluster of red and dark yellow spots. There was another heat spot down the middle and a yellow spot down further near the bottom left hand corner of the picture.

Using a laser pointer Captain Wesley pointed to the bottom left hand corner of the screen.

"This is where we believe Mr Castle is located."

Kate felt her heart do a somersault in her chest when she heard the Captain. She might have been angry at Esposito for raising the question she did not want to think about let alone speak it but that anger had now passed and was forgotten. She felt relived that Castle still alive.

"From the information from the UAV and the O.P.s we believe there are around a dozen people in the warehouse." Brains said. "Including Beltran, though from what the O.P.s report he does come and go."

"Is he there now?"

"Yes, Colonel."

"Patrols around the perimeter?" Valentine asked.

"Sporadic at best."

The man called Brains informed everyone that there was a guard posted at the front of the warehouse and another at the rear entrance. They stood guard for a couple of hours before they were relieved. As for perimeter patrols a pair of guards made slow circuits of the warehouse once an hour.

"The two sentinels can be taken out by snipers." Brains said in a dispassionate tone of voice. "If there any perimeter patrols we can take them out as well."

Kate should have felt shocked at the way the man was speaking. Under normal circumstances she would have been and would have raised objections or protested, perhaps even arrested them but this was not a normal situation. These people were holding Castle captive and a quick death would be the least of their problems if she ever got her hands on any of them.

Brains tapped the keys on his computer. The infrared picture vanished to be replaced by a schematic layout of the warehouse.

"So how are we going to play this, Brains?" Colonel Valentine inquired.

"I think fast and furious, don't give them a chance to react once we've taken down the guards." Brains replied. He then proceeded to detail exactly how he mapped out the operation. It took about ten minutes and in the briefing he didn't leave anything out.

The Colonel grinned and nodded his head he liked what his Ops man had come up with.

"What about medievac?" He asked.

"I have a medievac chopper at Biggs Air Field on five minute alert." Brains informed him.

"And if the need arises for a hot extraction?"

"There'll be a pair of Blackhawks airborne on a regular patrol along the border so if a hot extraction is needed they'll be able to swoop in and pick you all up. Other wise you leave the same way you came in."

"And the border posts?"

"They've been tipped off so they'll be waiting to let you through, both sides of the border, Colonel."

Valentine nodded his head. He went over the plan in his mind trying to find anything that could go wrong, to find any flaw that might ruin the mission. He had seen enough combat to know even the best and most meticulous plans could go awry once the bullets started flying. After a few moments of thought he could find nothing wrong with the plan Brains had come up with.

He looked across to Captain Wesley.

"Jack any objections or questions?"

"None, sir." Captain Wesley replied simply.

"The mission plan is approved." Valentine announced finally. He glanced at his watch. It was two thirty.

"Jack brief the men. We roll in half an hour. I want this over and done with before dawn."

"Yes Colonel." Captain Wesley replied and left the room.

Colonel Valentine turned to look at Esposito and Ryan. He grinned at the two detectives.

"You two up for a bit of excitement?"

"You bet Colonel." Esposito said excitedly.

"Yeah count me in too." Ryan added, a grin on his face.

Kate watched the exchange. She was expecting the colonel to turn to her and also invite her along as well. It took her a couple of moments to realise that they were going to leave her behind. Her face clouded.

"I'm coming too." Kate announced.

Colonel Valentine looked at the detective with a look of surprise. Esposito as well as Ryan turned to look at her. Colonel Valentine regarded her for a couple of moments. Then he spoke.

"No."

"I'm coming along, Colonel." Kate insisted.

Valentine stared angrily at Beckett who stared right back at him with equal anger.

"Gentlemen," He said tersely, still holding Beckett's glare. "Can we have the room, please?"

The other men in the room looked at the two combatants and then at each other. Slowly they shuffled out of the room.

"You're not coming on this mission, detective." Valentine said once the door had been closed.

"Well I'm sure as hell not sitting around here." Beckett shot back.

"I said no." Valentine said firmly, as if this was the end of the argument.

Beckett placed her fists on her hips and leaned closer to the Colonel. Her face hardened as she stared at him.

"I can take care of myself, colonel." She said in a cold hard voice. "In case you've forgotten I'm a New York Police detective, I bust into places nearly every other day not knowing what's on other side without the luxury training drills, so I can handle myself if that's what you're worried about."

"I'm sure you can handle yourself." Valentine replied. "You're still not coming."

"The hell I'm not!"

"No." Valentine said in a low but controlled voice. "It's too dangerous for you."

"Yet you're taking Esposito and Ryan."

"It's too dangerous for a woman. What happens if you get captured or worse wounded? These bad guys aren't squeamish when it comes to raping a wounded woman."

"I'll take my chances, Colonel." Kate replied. She had read some of the stories in the papers and it sent a shudder through her at the time. "Look, that's my partner being held captive and there is nothing and no one in this world who's going to stop me from going to get him out is that understood?" she said heatedly.

Valentine regarded the woman standing on the other side of the table. He could not recall the last time some one had stood up to him with such conviction. In the special forces it was an accepted custom for subordinates to give their opinions when planning missions, it was encouraged, members of small teams had to trust each other implicitly. Once a decision was made orders had to be carried out. Valentine could not help but be impressed by the woman standing before him. At the corners of his mouth there was the beginnings of a smile.

"He must be a very special man." He mused aloud.

"It's Richard Castle."

Valentine waved his hand at her. "I know who he is, it's not what I meant. He's very special to you."

"He is." Kate could feel the heat rise to her cheeks.

Colonel continued to regard Kate as he thought about whether to let her come along on the mission or not.

"All right you can come along." Valentine announced suddenly. He held up a finger at her. "But you'll do exactly as I tell you, is that understood detective?"

"Understood, Colonel."

Valentine nodded his head. "I'll show you where you can get changed." he moved to the door and opened it for her.

"Thank you Colonel." She said as she passed him.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Your thoughts would be most welcome, dear readers.**

**Regards**

**Con**


	22. Chapter 22

**Hello everyone. This is the final dream sequence. Once I started writing it, I found I couldn't stop. So rather than having a chapter well over 10,000 words long I have decided to cut it in half. This chapter is the first half of the chapter. I hope you like it. P.S. there is a bit of mild course language.**

Chapter 22

_Roy Montgomery was seated behind the large desk which was devoid of clutter. There was in tray in one corner and an out try in another corner both of which were empty of any paper or files. A lap top sat closed on the left and an unopened file sat in the middle of the desk. There was a telephone within easy reach and it was being used._

_Montgomery was reclining in his chair and staring out the the floor to ceiling glass wall that was the backdrop behind his desk. He was barely listening to the one sided conversation taking place beside his desk. His eyes were focused on the mostly dark buildings in the distance across the water. Helicopter patrols flew slowly over or near the island, their navigation lights blinking constantly._

_He could remember a time when all those buildings were lit up brilliantly at night time, a constant and shining beacon that was the greatest city in the world. There had been a time long ago when he had called Manhattan Island home. Now it was nothing more than a maximum security prison. The place where convicted criminals from all over the country were dumped. There was only one rule for the New York Maximum Penitentiary; you go in but you don't come out. That did not stop the inmates of Manhattan trying to make their escape across the water. The constant helicopter patrols ensured that would-be escapees either turned back or were blown out of the water. The guard towers spaced around the containment wall that enclosed the entire island also made sure the inmates remained where they were, on the island._

_In a short space of time the island of Manhattan had turned into a jungle of the worst kind where Darwin's theory, that only the strongest survived proved true each and every day._

_New York Maximum Penitentiary was Montgomery's responsibility. It was his job to make sure that none of the inmates ever got out._

_Montgomery was in a pensive mood. He had just returned from the island empty handed. He had led a rescue mission to find and recover the President. His plane had gone down in the city. The inmates had captured him. Montgomery and his people had to jump back into the helicopters and get off the island or the inmates would have killed the President. Montgomery had been on the ground barely five minutes. He hated having to come back empty handed. He hated to fail in any mission he undertook. This one he hated all the more because he had not been able to find and bring back the President._

"_Yes, he's right here Mr Vice President."_

_Montgomery turned from the window and looked at his deputy who was holding the telephone out to him. He took the phone._

"_This is Roy Montgomery, Mr Vice President." Montgomery announced. "We can't, sir. If we moved in with choppers, they'll kill him. We tried it once and came back empty handed. We're lucky if he's not dead already...They don't want anything yet, sir. By the time they figure out what they want, it'll be too late."_

"_Tell him we have to go with your plan." Montgomery's deputy whispered loudly._

_Montgomery waved off his deputy, shooting him a glare._

"_We can't wait until tomorrow, sir." Montgomery continued. "If we have to move in and take the island, it's a last resort." Montgomery checked his watch before he spoke again. "It's 8.45pm now. I want permission to try a rescue, sir...Thank you, Mr Vice President."_

_Montgomery handed over the phone to his deputy._

"_Get the ball rolling, Rehme." Montgomery ordered._

_Deputy Rehme nodded his head and smiled. He quickly left the office._

_Montgomery opened the top drawer of his desk and took out a 9mm pistol. He ejected the magazine and made sure there was a full clip. He retuned the clip into the butt of the pistol and cocked the weapon. He left the safety off before he set it down out of sight but within easy reach should he need it._

_Looking up from his desk to he nodded to the armed guard standing in the doorway of his office._

"_All right." Montgomery said._

"_She's dangerous, sir."_

"_I know. It'll be OK." Montgomery said confidently. _

_Kate 'The Snake' Beckett looked like the essence of cool. Her long hair was wavy and ratty, it had been some time since her hair and the rest of her had a wash. A black eye patch covered the left eye which she had lost in some long ago battle. She wore a black spandex/kevlar type shirt and a pair of black combat pants with lots of pockets. The black leather jacket she wore had seen better days. The ensemble was completed with the pair of heavy black combat boots. She also wore a pair of handcuffs with a straight metal bar instead of the usual links. _

_The guards stepped aside and Beckett walked into the office and sat down in the chair across from Montgomery. Montgomery nodded to the guards dismissing them. The guards hesitated a moment before they reluctantly withdrew. She raised her cuffed hands at Montgomery as if to say: 'take these off me'. Montgomery shook his head._

"_I'm not a fool, Beckett." Montgomery said._

_Beckett grinned and leaned back in her chair and fixed her gaze on the man sitting on the other side of the desk. A girl had to try. _

_Montgomery opened the file that had been sitting on his desk. He started to read aloud._

"_Kate 'The Snake' Beckett, former United States Secret Service Special Agent, Director's Award For Valor, Distinguished Service Award. Former lieutenant, Special Forces unit Black Angels. Army Distinguished Service Cross, two silver stars, three bronze stars, three purple hearts; St Petersburg, Volgograd and Vladivostok..."_

"_Is this an episode of This Is Your Life?" Beckett retorted, looking bored._

"_Charged with the attempted murder of your unit's CO." Montgomery looked up from the file. "Why'd you do that?"_

_Beckett shrugged her shoulders. "Seemed like the right thing to do at the time, the bastard was going to kill us all."_

_Montgomery nodded his head and returned to reading the file._

"_Escaped from military prison and took up a life of crime. You robbed the Federal Reserve Depository." Montgomery continued. "Life sentence, New York Maximum Security Penitentiary." Montgomery looked up from the file to Beckett. "I'm ready to kick your ass out of the world, war hero."_

_Beckett stared back at the man. She could not care less._

"_So who are you?" She asked finally._

"_Montgomery, Police Commissioner."_

"_Roy Montgomery..." Beckett nodded her head._

"_Special Forces unit Texas Thunder." Montgomery added with a slight grin on his lips. "We heard of you too Beckett."_

_Beckett turned her head taking in Montgomery's office. _

"_So why are we talking?" She asked. "I don't think it's to swap old war stories."_

"_I have a deal for you, Beckett." Montgomery informed her. "You'll receive a full pardon for every criminal act committed in the United States."_

_Montgomery pulled open the desk drawer and produced the pardon and held it up for her to see. Beckett leaned forward in her chair and stared at the embossed and gilded sheet of paper. Try as she might she couldn't hide the sudden interest. She could certainly use the pardon._

_Montgomery saw that Beckett was interested. He set the pardon down on his desk and he pressed his advantage._

"_There was an accident about an hour ago. A small jet went down inside New York City. The President was on board."_

_Beckett sneared as she looked across to Montgomery. "President of what?" She asked._

"_That's not funny, Beckett." Montgomery growled. "Look, you go in, find the President and bring him out in 24 hours, and you're a free woman."_

_Beckett rolled her good eye at the man on the other side of the desk. She shook her head unable to stop the grin reaching her lips. This was not the first time the government was asking a favour from her. But she was no longer a soldier or a war hero. It amused her to know that they needed her more than she needed the pardon they were dangling before her._

"_Twenty four hours, eh?" she mused aloud._

"_I'm making you an offer."_

"_Crap."_

"_Straight just like I said, Beckett."_

"_I'll think about it." Beckett said._

"_No time. Give me an answer." Montgomery pressed._

_Beckett laughed mirthlessly as she looked away from the police commissioner, taking an interest in some of the framed photos on the wall. He was pushing too hard, they both new it. She was determined to be in the driver's seat in this negotiation._

"_Get another President." Beckett said finally, turning to look at Montgomery._

"_In case you've forgotten, we're still at war, Beckett. We kind of need the one we got right now."_

"_I don't give a shit about your war...or your President." Beckett snarled._

"_Is that your answer?"_

"_I'm thinking about it." Beckett shrugged her shoulders._

"_Think hard."_

"_So why me?"_

"_You flew the Gullfire over St Petersburg and Vladivostok. You know how to get in quiet." Montgomery paused and frowned, hating to admit the next part. "You're all I got."_

_This time Beckett let out a real laugh. It amused her to think they were so desperate they had to call on her services._

"_So why should I help you?" _

"_Two reasons." Montgomery replied. He pointed the pardon sitting on his desk. "First you get a full pardon and your record expunged."_

_Beckett liked the sound of that but she was not ready to agree to anything. She wanted to hear what else there was._

"_The second reason?"_

_Montgomery reached into the drawer and pulled out an A4 size photograph. He gave it a quick glance before he put it face down on the desk and slid it across to the other side. Beckett leaned closer to the desk and flipped over the photograph._

_She stared down at the photograph wide-eyed. It was of her taken many years ago back in the days when she was in the Secret Service. She was standing beside a tall ruggedly handsome man. She was smiling brightly, her face half turned to the man as he was whispering something in her ear. She could not help but smile as she gazed down at the photograph and the memories it brought back. The man had been her friend and lover. No man before or since him had ever made such an impact on her life. No man had ever been able to capture her heart the way he had done._

_And he had been the reason why she had been dismissed from the Secret Service. Their affair had eventually been discovered and for her troubles she had been kicked out of the Service. To give him his due he did really try very hard to save her job but to no avail._

_Suddenly the smile vanished from her face. The enormity of why she had been shown this photograph hit her with the force of sledgehammer. She looked up at Montgomery._

"_Don't tell me he became President?" Beckett was incredulous._

_Montgomery grinned and slowly nodded his head. _

_Beckett let out an explosive sigh as she sat back in her chair. She looked away from the grinning police commissioner and stared at the wall. She shook her head. She had tried to forget that man, that had been one of the reasons she had joined the army and got into the Special Forces but his memory would always come galloping back to her like an eager puppy. She had saved his ass once before and it looked like she had to do it again. She remembered the promise she had made to him that night after the attempt on his life, that she would get him out if he ever got kidnapped or if someone wanted to kill him. She shook her head again. Maybe she should have taken up the offer of termination that all prisons receive when they arrive in the prisoner reception area, she thought grimly._

_A lot of things may have happened since that time they had been together but despite everything her life had become she still felt that she was honourable person. She had given him her word and she now honour bound to keep that promise. Damn that man!_

_She turned her attention to Montgomery. "I guess I go in one way or the other. Doesn't mean shit to me." She announced. "Give me the paper."_

"_When you come out." Montgomery replied, trying not to smile at his victory._

"_Before." Beckett demanded._

"_I told you I wasn't a fool, Snake."_

"_Call me Beckett." She glared at him. "Now give me the paper."_

"_I said no."_

_Beckett shrugged her shoulders. It did not really matter but it was worth a try. You didn't know if you didn't try, she figured._

"_Richard Castle President of the United States." She laughed. "No wonder the country's gone down the crapper."_

_XXXXX_

_Beckett walked into the room followed by Montgomery. Beckett's attention was drawn to the table where a number of weapons were arrayed. There are a couple of 9mm handguns, grenades, several pouches full of various items, there was a flashlight, a HK MP-5 submachine gun, half a dozen combat knives, throwing stars. A cool expression settled on her face as she took in the weapons._

"_Some of them have cars." Montgomery informed her, hovering behind her. "They took the old junkers that were left were left behind, converted them to steam. They may also have a gasoline source, rigged up generators. Some have street lights. The Crazies. They live in the subways, complete control underground. They're night raiders."_

_Beckett barely listened to the Police Commissioner. She knew she would figure it all out once she was on the ground over there. She moved slowly along the table. Pausing she picked up a bracelet which had an eagle embossed on it._

"_Tracer." Montgomery explains. "We can follow you from back here, just like the good old days in St Petersburg."_

_Beckett gave him a baleful look at his attempt at a joke. Montgomery motioned to Beckett to follow him. They walk into another room which has been set up as a medical room._

"_So where am I landing?" Beckett asked._

"_Top of the MetLife Building." Montgomery informed her. "It's the only place with enough area to land. They wont see you. And you can take off from a free fall."_

_Montgomery pointed to the medical table. Beckett hopped onto the table._

"_On the roof there's a service elevator that's still operational." Montgomery continued. "We use it to infiltrate the prison. There's a power box, it'll activate the elevator down to the tenth floor, from there on down, you walk."_

_Beckett nodded her head in understanding._

"_How do I find him?" She asked._

"_You can locate the President by his vital signs tracer bracelet on his wrist. It sends out a signal." Montgomery produced a small homing device and passed it over to Beckett. "Use this, it's a homing device."_

_Beckett shoved the tracking device into one of the pockets of her pants._

"_We're going to give you a couple of shots, a strong antitoxin. Stops bacteria and viral-proofs you for twenty-fours hours." Montgomery informed her, a smug grin on his face._

_Beckett turned her head and watched as a white coated medic entered the room and approached holding a tray. She noticed the two thin barrelled hyposprays sitting on the tray. She didn't like needles or hyposprays at the best of times. She gave the medic a glare and was pleased to see that he suddenly had become cautious and hesitant._

_On seeing Beckett distracted Montgomery moved up and strapped a timer on her left wrist. He pressed a button on the side activating the timer. Beckett glared at the police commissioner and then at the timer. She sees the time: Twenty-two hours twenty-nine minutes and fifty seconds._

"_We talked about twenty-fours."_

_Montgomery shrugged. "In twenty-two hours the Hartford Summit will be over. The President was on his way to it before his plane went down."_

_The medic stepped up to the table and swabbed both sides of her neck and then picked up the hypos and injected them on both sides of her neck. Beckett glared angrily at the medic. The man quickly stepped away out of her reach. Slowly she got off the table._

"_Tell him." The medic said addressing Montgomery._

"_Tell me what?" Beckett demanded, looking from the medic to Montgomery._

_Montgomery smiled at Beckett. "That idea you had about turning the Gullfire around and flying off to Canada." He shook his head._

_Beckett turned to the medic angrily._

_What did you do to me, asshole?"_

"_My idea, Beckett. Something we've been fooling around with." Montgomery said. "Two microscopic capsules lodged in you arteries. They're already starting to dissolve. In twenty-two hours, the cores will completely dissolve. Inside the cores are heat sensitive charges. Not a large explosive, about the size of a pinhead. Just big enough to open up both your arteries. I'd say you'd be dead in ten or fifteen sec..._

_Montgomery suddenly stopped talking. Beckett had reached out and grabbed him by the throat and was starting to squeeze. She may have been slender looking but years of hard physical training had given her such strength that belied her frame. She squeezed a little harder as she pushed her face in Montgomery's face._

"_Take...them..out...now!" She growled menacingly. Normally she would have enjoyed seeing the look of fear in the man's eyes but she was way too angry._

"_They're protected by the cores." The medic called out. "Fifteen minutes before the last hour is up we can neutralize the charges with X-rays."_

_Beckett did not want to let go of Montgomery's throat. She wanted to squeeze the life out of him for what he had done to her. She closed her hand a little more before she suddenly released him. She stepped back but continued to glare at him._

_Montgomery reached for his throat rubbing it as he sucked in air down his recently constricted throat. He glared back at Beckett._

"_We'll burn out the charges, if you have the President." He said in a croaky tone of voice._

"_What if I'm a little late?"_

"_No more Hartford Summit. And no more Kate 'The Snake' Beckett." Montgomery said simply._

_Beckett regarded the police commissioner with a baleful glare which would have had most men quaking in their boots. After a moment she nodded her head as if she reached a decision._

"_When I get back, I'm going to kill you." She told him._

_Montgomery smiled. If he had a dollar every time some prisoner made that boast he would have retired a long time ago an extremely rich man._

"_The Gullfire's waiting." he told her._

_XXXXX_

_A jeep raced down the length of the runway heading for the dark coloured glider that sat patiently at the end of the runway. Beckett had been sitting in the back of the jeep. She had chosen for her weapons, a 9mm pistol and a MP-5 submachine gun and a long bladed combat knife. During the journey to the airfield she had toyed with the MP-5, removing the ammunition clip and returning it into place, cocking it. The two guards escorting her had looked on nervously. The one sitting beside her had his weapon trained on her, his finger resting on the trigger. As if that would have been much of a problem. _

_She had entertained the idea of escaping for all of a heart beat or two before dismissing it. There was no escape for her. The two explosive charges coursing through her arteries set to go off in less than twenty-two hours had made sure of that. The other reason that kept her from escaping was the promise she had made to Castle all those years ago._

_When the jeep came to halt beside the glider Beckett casually got out. It did not escape her notice that the two guards also got out and watched, their rifles following her as she approached the glider. She knew they were there to make sure she got into the aircraft. _

_Beckett made an inspection of the aircraft, checking its surfaces, making sure the ailerons, and flaps as well rudder were in order and moved correctly. It had been a few years since she had flown a Gullfire but the old training had come back to her. Any pilot worth their wings did a ground check and visual inspection. Satisfied she approached the cockpit._

_She pulled open the cockpit window and climbed into the cockpit. Even with the weapons she carried it was still a comfortable fit. She strapped herself in. Her eye surveyed the instrument panel before her, dark and silent. In the semi darkness she could barely see the panel properly. A small smile came to her lips. She could have started up the aircraft with her eye closed. She had done it many times in the past. In her head she brought up the checklist that she had memorised many years ago. She flipped a switch and instantly the instrument panel came to life. There were three main monitors on the panel in front of her as well as a number of switches and knobs._

_It took her only a couple of minutes to complete the start up checklist. Her record had been a minute and a half but then that time she had been under enemy fire. She reached up and pulled the cockpit window closed sealing her in the cocoon of the cockpit. Memories of some previous flights threatened to come to the fore but she pushed them back. There was no time for a trip down memory lane, she reminded herself._

"_I'm ready." She announced._

"_Twenty-one hours." Montgomery replied over the radio._

"_Supposed he's already dead, Montgomery? If I come back without him, you'll burn these things out?" _

_She did not want to think about the possibility of Castle being dead. Somewhere deep inside her she knew that he was still alive. But the question had to be asked._

"_Just get him back, Beckett."_

_Beckett did not like Montgomery's response and she made a face. For a brief moment she regretted not squeezing the life out of him._

"_And remember, Beckett." Montgomery continued. "Once you're inside you're on your own."_

"_You mean I can't count on you?" Beckett ventured._

"_No."_

"_Good!" _

_Beckett looked out the front of the cockpit window and saw a single prop aircraft approaching. About a hundred feet away the other aircraft turned around and faced down the runway. A ground crewman appeared from out of the darkness he raced across to the other aircraft to where it was trailing a long tow rope. The man picked up the end of the tow rope and raced to the Gullfire. He quickly hooked up the end of the tow rope to the glider. Stepping back he gave Beckett the thumb-up. She returned it._

_The leading plane began to roll down the runway gathering up the slack between the two aircraft. The Gullfire jerked forward as the tow rope became taut and travelled down the runway gathering speed with each passing moment. Beckett glanced to the monitor on her right to the speed indicator rising rapidly. A minute later the lead plane had left the ground and started to climb up into the night sky. With a smile on her face, Beckett pulled back on her stick and felt the Gullfire leave the ground._

_On reaching five thousand feet Beckett released the tow rope and banked the Gullfire away from the tow plane and headed in the direction of New York City. Far below were the dark and cold waters of the harbour. _

_She glanced at the timer on her wrist and saw the time left: 20:17:40. Not even the sight of her life ticking away could remove the smile from her face as she manoeuvred the glider on the thermals and finding the aircraft responding instantly to her commands. She had almost forgotten how much she had enjoyed flying and how much she missed it._

_The joy of flying once again was short lived as the skyline of New York city loomed in the distance. Her smile faded slowly. Just like Montogmery, Beckett had once lived in New York. In fact she had been born and bred there and it pained her to see what her home been turned into because of expediency. If she ever go her hands on the guy who came up with idea to turn her home into a prison...She dismissed the thought quickly. _

_There was work to be done. On the middle monitor she brought up the computer generated map of the city. She hit a button on the console beneath the central monitor and the screen there appeared a blinking red dot. This was the location of the MetLife building her landing zone. She hit another button and a green light appeared showing the position of the Gullfire _

_The Gullfire flew over Battery Park. Beckett looked down from the cockpit and detected a number of small fires._

"_Feet dry." She muttered to herself, reciting an old term that carrier pilots used to say to indicate they were over land._

_She followed Broadway, trying to gain height. The glider found a thermal and rose higher. It was always a little tricky landing in a heavily built up city. The tall buildings created their own currents. Keeping her eye on the map on the screen she travelled up Broadway and continued on over Park Avenue. The red blinking dot grew larger and larger on the monitor._

"_Are you picking up the target blip?" Montgomery's voice said._

"_Right on course." Beckett replied._

"_What's your altitude?"_

_Beckett did not respond to the question. She had other things on her mind. More important things, like flying the glider._

"_Beckett? Beckett?" Montgomery demanded, his voice rising in anger. "Beckett what are you doing?"_

"_Playing with myself." Beckett growled back. "I'm going in."_

_At 42nd street Beckett banked the glider sharply to the right heading for the Old United Nations Building. With the UN building now below her she banked to the left and lined the glider along East 44th street and the landing zone descending as she did so. In the distance the MetLife building loomed larger and larger in the front window of the cockpit. She no longer needed to rely on the computer map. She dived sharply for the landing zone. _

_She realised that she was descending too rapidly and she would bounce on the roof of the building and fly off if she was lucky, if not she could crash in a heap. Pulling down the flaps a smile of relief came to her lips as she noticed the speed indicator drop as the speed was bled off. The glider continued to descend. _

_Then Gullfire was suddenly over the MetLife building. Beckett flared the glider dropped it down. The wheels bounced once and then again. She bounced around in the cockpit, thankful that she had strapped herself tightly. She struggled to bring the glider to a halt. She pulled on the airbrakes but the aircraft was still speeding across the building. She then threw out a grappling hook. The edge of building was coming up far too quickly for her liking. She held her breath._

_The grappling hook finally caught and it stopped the glider suddenly. In the cockpit Beckett was thrown forward and then back into her seat roughly, the action almost winding her. The straps bit hard into her shoulders. She finally let out her breath and peered out the window. Her eye widened a little when she saw the nose of the Gullfire was poking over the edge of the building.  
_

_It could have been worse she mused to herself. She unbuckled herself and opened the cockpit window. Carefully she jumped down onto the roof of the building, very near the edge. She walked away from the glider._

_Beckett walked to the elevator. Finding the power box she opened it and made short work of hot wiring it. Closing the power box she heard the elevator start up. The elevator doors slid open. Beckett looked around the roof of the building. She gave the glider one final look. It was not going to go anywhere, the grappling hook made sure of that. She stepped into the the dark elevator, pressing a button that would take her down. The doors slid closed enveloping her in the darkness._

_Ten minutes later Beckett was standing in the graffiti covered lobby of the building surveying the surroundings. In her right hand she held the MP-5 submachine gun ready to be used if the need arose._

"_Beckett, Beckett, come in." Montgomery's voice squarked over the radio._

_Beckett made a face as she pulled the radio from her belt._

"_I'm inside the building." She announced._

"_Is the glider intact?"_

"_Yeah, but taking off is for shit. Don't worry I'll work it out."_

_Beckett checked the watch on her wrist and saw the time: 19:22:44_

"_Call me when you get out, Beckett."_

_She didn't respond. She returned the radio to the belt and started walking towards the doors that led out onto the street._

_Once outside Beckett pulled out the tracker and switched it on. The display showed a map of the city a moment later a blinking red dot appeared on the screen. She studied the map and the location of the dot. She turned north and started walking up Park Avenue._

_She moved rapidly with purpose, the grim look on her face is enough to keep the few people hanging around on the streets to keep their distance from her. The MP-5 just added extra incentive for them to keep away._

_Reaching the corner of East 47th and Park Avenue Beckett stopped and stared at the burning building to her right. A huge chunk of the building had been gauged out by the impacting plane leaving a big hole where the flames spewed out. Beckett could just make out the tail fin of the aircraft now nothing more than a blackened twisted pile of metal. The smell of aviation gas hung heavy in the air. A few people were also watching the fire that was slowly consuming the building._

_Beckett pulled out the radio._

"_I'm at the crash site." She announced, looking at the building. "Nobody else made it, Montgomery."_

_A beep from the tracker had Beckett returning the radio and reaching for the tracker. She studied the screen. The red dot was blinking off to the west of her location. She turned turned left and started trotted along East 47th street._

_XXXX_

_Kevin Ryan had always liked musicals, when ever he got the chance he would come down to the theatre. Tonight he was in his usual seat next to the aisle watching a performance on stage. He had a bit of spare time on his hands before he had to go to work driving the battered old NY cab. To everyone he was known as Cabbie. He had found an old style Yellow Cab driver's hat in an abandoned costume shop and it had become part of his uniform. _

_The musicians were playing out of tune and the group of singers were terribly off key. Despite the horrible performance taking place on stage Ryan could not keep the smile from his face as his silently sang along to the tune being played and tried to keep in time with his tapping foot._

_When the song finished Ryan eagerly started clapping. There was half hearted applause from the few others who had come in off the streets. Ryan looked about him and he spotted the woman with the eyepatch and weapon walking slowly down the aisle. He was not surprised to see someone walking around with a weapon. This was New York afterall, if you wanted to survive through the night time you carried a weapon with you at all times. _

_Ryan's smile faltered and he stopped clapping as he regarded the woman. She looked familiar but for the moment he could not place her. Beckett scanned the almost empty theatre, noticing the look from the cabbie. She looked at the tracker and continued moving towards the door above the exit sign. _

_Hearing a noise behind her she turned around aiming her gun. Ryan threw his hands in the air._

"_Hey! You're Snake Beckett, aint you?" Ryan said smiling at her_

"_What do you want?" Beckett said._

"_Nothin."_

_Beckett regarded the cabbie carefully and dismissed him as harmless. She lowered her gun._

"_I thought you were dead!" Ryan blurted out._

_Beckett rolled her eye at the cabbie turned and strode up to the exit door and walked through. Ryan followed the famous war hero. _

"_Hey you don't want to walk around down there, Snake!" he called out. "There are a Crazies down there."_

_Beckett ignored the warning from the cabbie. Her attention was focused on the tracker and the strong signal that it was flashing. Slowly she descended the stairs. Reaching the bottom she started to move through the corridor. It was dark and dingy down here and the smell was beyond incredible, the only light was from the small fires that the denizens of this place had lit. _

_Beckett paused by an open door and peered in. She saw a trio of men beating up on a semi conscious girl. One of the men was tearing at the girl's clothes. She flicked the lever of her gun to single shot and levelled it into the room. She fired three times and brought down the men. The girl also fell to the ground. Beckett moved on not bothering to check on the condition of the girl. She had given the girl a chance and the rest was up to her if she was strong enough._

_The red dot on the tracker was getting bigger the more she moved through the corridor. She saw a bum sitting close to a fire trying to keep warm. The bum looked up at Beckett giving her a toothless grin._

"_Hi chief, nice night." The bum's eyes fall to the boots Beckett wore. "Nice boots. Niiice boots."_

_Beckett heard someone trying to creep up behind her. At the last moment she lashed out with her left elbow catching her would-be-attacker right in the face. The attacker landed on the ground with a loud thud and did not move. Beckett did not take her eyes off the bum her gun pointed at him._

"_Easy now chief." The bum said raising his hands in the air. Slowly he got to his feet. "I'm walking, I'm walking."_

_The bum disappeared and Beckett resumed walking down the corridor. Coming to the end of the corridor she found a door marked 'men's room'. Pushing the door open she finds a man standing over another man at a sink and slowly punching him. Beckett spotted the Presidential tracer bracelet on the second man's wrist. _

_Alarmed. It took her a couple of bounds to reach the men. With the butt of her weapon she smashed it against the man beating the second man. The first man let out a gasp of surprise and collapsed in a heap on the floor._

"_C...Mr President..." she corrected herself._

_Her good eye nearly falls out of its socket as she stares down at the man she has just rescued. It's not Castle. It is an old scruffy looking drunk._

"_I'm the President?" The drunk said with a bewildered look on his face. "Sure, I'm the President."_

_Beckett grabbed the man by the wrist and held it up showing him the tracer bracelet._

"_Where did you get this?" She demanded angrily. _

_The drunk smiled at her. Beckett shook the man's wrist._

"_Where did you get this damn thing?"_

"_I woke up, and there it was, just like a miracle..."_

_Beckett let out a low growl and smashed the tracer bracelet against the sink. The drunk let out a howl of pain but she did not care that she hurt the man. She let go of his wrist and turned away from him and reached for the radio._

"_Montgomery."_

"_Right here, Beckett."_

"_I don't know what you assholes are looking at, but it's not the President." She shouted angrily._

"_Are you sure?" Montgomery said in an even tone of voice._

_Beckett paused to take a calming breath before she spoke again. "I'm sure."_

_Beckett glanced back at the drunk who was now sitting on the floor making whimpering sounds as he cradled his wrist. Suddenly she was filled with remorse for what she had done to him. It lasted for a moment. She turned around._

"_All right, Montgomery, get your machine ready. I'm coming out." She announced._

"_You still got eighteen hours, Beckett."_

"_Listen to me Montgomery." her voice rose with growing anger. "The President is dead, you got that? Somebody's had him for dinner!"_

"_Beckett, if you get back in the glider I'll shoot you down myself. You climb out, I'll burn you off the wall. You understand that Beckett? You still have eighteen hours, use the time."_

_Beckett stared at the radio. After a moment she shook her head. "A little human compassion wouldn't go astray, commissioner." She muttered._

_With barely a glance at the still whimpering drunk Beckett walked out of the men's room._

**To be continued...**

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

**Will Castle make his escape? Will Mr Smith carry out his orders? Hopefully these questions will be answered in part two of this chapter, or maybe they wont. Sorry to keep you hanging on but stay tuned. I should have part two up in about a day or two.**

**Kindest regards**

**Con**


	23. Chapter 23

**Here it is, Part 2 of the Castle's last dream sequence. I apologise for the delay.**

**A little warning about some violence.**

**I hope you like it.**

Chapter 23

_Beckett dropped down the fire escape into the alley. Looking up she saw the Crazies pouring out of the windows of the building and starting down the fire escape after her. From the other end of the alley more Crazies appeared. For a moment she thought about mowing them down with the submachine gun but quickly decided against it. Glancing up she saw them reaching the end of the fire escape._

_Beckett started running down the alley. The howling and growling from the Crazies was growing louder making her run a little faster. Bursting out of the alley she paused a moment to get her bearings. A battered old yellow cab pulled up._

"_Hey where you going, Snake?" Ryan called out._

_Beckett looked back to the alley and saw the Crazies still coming. Beckett pulled open the back door of the cab and got in._

"_This is a bad neighbourhood Snake." Ryan said with a chuckle. "You don't want to be walking around these parts at night."_

_Ryan reached under the dashboard and pulled out a large bottle filled with gasoline. A long dirty rag was stuffed in the neck of the bottle._

"_I've been driving a cab here quite a few years, and I'm telling you, you don't want to be walking around these parts at night, no sir! They'll kill you and strip you in ten seconds flat."_

_Beckett glanced back in the direction of the alley and back at the cabbie. Ryan produced a Zippo lighter from his pocket and flicked it on. He set the rag alight._

"_Usually I'm not down around here myself but I wanted to catch that show."_

_Ryan on seeing the rag lit up threw the bottle out the window in the direction of the alley. On hitting the ground it exploded in a large ball of flames. There were loud shrieks from the Crazies who got caught in the flames. Ryan put the cab into gear and drove off quickly._

"_Hey Snake, when did you get in? I didn't even know they caught you." Ryan laughed and shook his head. "The Great Snake Beckett in my cab, wait till I tell Jenny."_

_Ryan made a sharp turn. Beckett was thrown around in the back seat. Sitting back up she glared at the back of Ryan's head._

"_So what were you doing back there anyway, Snake?"_

"_I was looking for some one." Beckett replied._

"_Well why didn't you ask me?" Ryan said. He glanced over his shoulder and shot a bright smile at Beckett. "Hell I know everybody in this town, yes sir. I've been driving this cab for over fifteen years."_

"_I'm going to ask." Beckett growled, irritated by Ryan's constant chatter. She put the barrel of her gun against Ryan's head. "Where is the President?"_

"_The Duke's got him. Everyone knows the Duke's got him. You don't have to put a gun to my head. I'll tell you." Ryan said._

_Beckett sat back against the seat._

"_Who's the Duke?"_

"_The Duke!" Ryan exclaimed. "The Duke of New York. A-Number One, The big man, that's who."_

_Beckett looked out the window of the cab at the passing scenery. After a couple of minutes she turned back to look at Ryan._

"_I want to meet this Duke." She announced._

"_You can't meet the Duke, are you crazy?" Ryan almost shrieked. "Nobody wants to meet the Duke. You meet him once and then you're dead."_

"_Well he has something that I want, so I'm going to meet the Duke."_

_Ryan tried hard to convince Beckett the foolishness of her wanting to meet the Duke of New York. The more he talked the less she listened. In the end he realised he was getting nowhere. Beckett was determined on the course she had taken and the more he talked the quicker he would get a bullet in the back of the head from the really pissed off one-eyed woman in the back of his cab. To appease her and to save his life he suggested to her that he would take her to Brain. A person who was close the the Duke._

_Beckett got out of the cab and scanned the surrounds. It was quiet, a little too quiet for her liking. She turned her gaze to the building they had parked in front of. She recognised it immediately. It was the New York Public Library. It was a place she knew quite well. In her early teens she would come here and lose herself in the books. She always loved to read._

_Ryan had trotted off towards the front entrance. After finishing her scan of the street Beckett quickly caught up to him. They reached the front door. Ryan bent down and removed his shoe and used it to bang on the door. Replacing his shoe he glanced across to Beckett and noticed that she was nervous._

"_You can relax Snake." Ryan assured her with an easy smile._

_Beckett couldn't relax. She would not be able to relax until she was out of this hell hole and those damned charges had been taken out. She checked the timer on her wrist: 17:40:46._

"_They have a great place here, like a fortress." Ryan said excitedly._

"_They?" Beckett said._

"_Who is it?" came a muffled female voice from the other side of the door._

_Ryan smiled and stepped closer to the door. "I's me."_

"_Who's me?" The woman demanded. Ryan glanced over at Beckett and gave her a tight lipped smile. He turned back to the door._

"_Cabbie."_

"_What do you want?"_

"_Somebody wants to see Brain. It's important."_

"_No way Cabbie..."_

"_No, no, it's Snake. Snake Beckett."_

_The door opened to reveal a petite black woman. She had long black hair and was dressed in a red dress cut low at the front. Over the dress she wore a purple red cotton jacket. Her name was Lanie. She looked at Ryan and then slowly turned her gaze at Beckett._

"_You're Beckett?" She said._

"_She wants to see Brain." Ryan interjected._

"_Why?"_

"_I want to meet the Duke." Beckett added._

_Lanie and Ryan exchanged a look. Lanie regarded Beckett carefully for some moments deciding whether to let them in or not. Reaching a decision she moved aside._

"_Come in."_

_Lanie led the visitors down a set of stairs down to the basement._

"_Hey what do you think of the place, Snake?" Ryan asked eagerly. "It used to be the public library. Oh that Brain, he's the greatest. The Duke loves him."_

_Beckett gestured to Lanie. "Who's that?"_

"_That's Lanie. Brain's squeeze. The Duke gave her to Brain just to keep him happy, if you know what I mean."_

_Beckett knew that Lanie was more than Brain's squeeze. She was his bodyguard. It had not been hard to spot especially to a former Secret Service agent. Beckett had no doubt the woman would kill to protect Brain if it had to come that._

"_I heard you were dead, Snake." Lanie called over her shoulder._

"_I might as well be." Beckett muttered to herself._

_Lanie led Ryan and Beckett into a cavernous storage room that had been converted into a plush looking living room. Shelves crammed with books lined the walls. A large sofa sat in the middle of the room and there were a number of armchairs dotted around the room._

"_Brain." Ryan called out as he approached the armchair where the man called Brain was seated. A large map of New York is displayed behind him. He was holding an open book in his hands."I brought someone to see you."_

_Beckett looked at the man sitting on the sofa. Slowly a smile of recognition stole across her face._

"_Javier Esposito." Beckett said._

_Esposito slowly put the book down on the side table. He was more than a little astonished to see Beckett standing before him._

"_Snake?" he said hesitantly._

"_Javier?" Lanie said looking at Esposito, a small smile on her face. She had always known him as Brain. She rather liked his real name._

"_Where you been Javier?" Beckett said as she walked towards him. "It's been a long time."_

"_You never told me you knew Snake Beckett, honey." Lanie said sweetly._

"_I'm glad you remember me, yeah." Beckett said quietly but in a menacing tone. "A man should remember his past. Kansas City, three years ago. You ran out on me. You left me sitting there."_

"_You were late." Esposito said glaring up at Beckett._

"_We were buddies, Esposito. You, me and Fresno Bob. You know what they did to Bob?"_

_The smile vanished from her face as she continued to stare down at Esposito. Suddenly she lashed out kicking the chair that Esposito is sitting on against the wall. She pointed her gun at him. Lanie drew a large knife from out of nowhere and started to advance on the Beckett, confirming what Beckett had thought about the woman._

_Beckett turned and fixed Lanie with a glare. "You want to see him sprayed all over the map?" Lanie stopped but she scowled angrily at Beckett. Beckett turned her attention back to the fearful looking Esposito._

"_Where's the President?" _

"_Swear to god, Beckett I don't know."_

"_Don't mess with me, Esposito."_

"_Why do you want to know?"_

"_I want him."_

_Esposito stared up at Beckett regarding her. Suddenly it hit him. A smile came to his face._

"_You're working for the man now, huh?"_

"_Then I'll just beat it out of your squeeze." Beckett nodded in Lanie's direction._

"_It be a waste of time, Snake." Esposito said confidently. He did not look at Lanie fearing to see the look on her face. He had no doubt that he could cop hell from her later on. "She doesn't know exactly where he is and unless you know exactly and precisely where he is you'll never find him."_

_Beckett let out a low growl. Lifting up her gun she stepped back from Esposito. A wave of frustration threatened to overwhelm her. She fought it down hard. She looked at Esposito then at Lanie, and Ryan before settling her gaze on Esposito again. Threats weren't going to work so she had to use something else. Incentive was always a good motivator._

"_Listen, I'll take you out of here." Beckett announced. "All you gotta do is get me to the President."_

"_You mean you'll take me too?" Ryan said excitedly._

_Beckett nodded her head._

"_The Duke's got the President and he's taking everyone out of here." Lanie said._

_Beckett looked at Lanie and snorted. "Never happen. See I know something you and the Duke don't know. We've only got so long before Mr President don't mean a whole lot."_

"_You're lying." Esposito challenged._

"_Maybe he's not..." Lanie replied, unsure._

"_I know her! Look at her face, she's lying!" Esposito shouted as he pointed at Beckett._

"_Yeah, right Esposito, I'm lying. So I will have some fun here and keep looking by myself." Beckett cocked her gun and pointed it at Esposito. _

"_Javier." Lanie said in a shaky voice, her eyes not leaving the woman with the eyepatch who was point a gun on her man._

"_Talk to him Lanie." Beckett urged._

"_Javier she'll kill us both if you don't tell him."_

"_Brain, you've got to tell him." Ryan said looking panicked._

"_All right!" Esposito shouted. He took a deep breath the moment Beckett lowered her gun._

_Beckett smirked at him. "You were always smart Esposito." _

_Esposito glared menacingly at Beckett but she was impervious to it._

"_So where is the President?" Beckett asked him quietly._

_Esposito rose from his chair. There was a hesitant look on his face. He was still debating whether to tell her where to find the President._

"_You will take us with you?" He asked._

"_You have my word Esposito." Beckett replied._

_Esposito nodded his head. He knew her well enough to know that her word was her bond. His decision was made._

"_The Duke has him in a rail car under Grand Central Station."_

"_What are we waiting for?" Ryan called out excitedly. "I can take you there."_

_XXXXX_

_Beckett led Esposito and Lanie through the tunnel. Ryan had been left on the surface with his cab waiting for them to return. Ryan had not been keen to go underground, he had not been keen to meet up with any Crazies who might have been lurking in the tunnel. Esposito and Lanie were also a little concerned about being down in the subway, constantly looking behind them fearing the denizens of the underground might leap out of the shadows to grab them._

_Beckett too was tense as she led them forward. She had her fill of Crazies earlier. If they appeared now she knew that escape would be difficult if not impossible. She pushed that thought from her mind and concentrated on the task at hand._

_In the murky distance Beckett spotted the rail cars. A campfire burned brightly in front of the third railcar. A group of people were standing around the fire talking. Beckett raised her hand to stop her small group._

"_He'll be in the third car from the end." Esposito said in a low voice. He had come up to stand beside Beckett, and both of them were watching the guards._

"_You keep the guards occupied." Beckett said._

"_How do I do that?"_

_Beckett turned to look at Esposito._

"_I'm sure you and Lanie can think of something, Esposito."_

_Esposito frowned at Beckett but then nodded his head._

"_Keep them occupied while I go in get the President and then we'll meet up on the surface at the cab."_

_Both Esposito and Lanie nodded their heads in understanding._

_Beckett watched as Esposito and Lanie strolled toward the railcars. Just as they reached the guards Beckett moved, sneaking up to the end car. She slung her gun over her shoulder she then started to climb on the car. Silently she climbed up to the roof of the car. She paused a moment. Esposito and Lanie were engaging the guards in conversation. Esposito was doing most of the talking._

_A grim smile appeared on Beckett's face as she continued to listen. Esposito was having a little difficulty in convincing the guards to let him through to see the prisoner. Beckett started moving along the roof of the car. Reaching the third car she climbed down to the space between the cars. Opening the door slowly she slipped in._

_Beckett was grateful for the shadows. She crouched low and stared down the length of the car. The President was sitting on a chair his arms were bound behind his back and his legs were tied to the chair. Two guards were standing on either side of him, both were armed with crossbows. _

_Beckett stared at the President. She could not help but smile. She was relieved to see that he had not been harmed too much by his captors. He looked a little dishevelled and he could have used a shave but otherwise he looked to have been reasonably treated. He may have looked a little older than the last time she had seen him but she could not help but think that he still looked ruggedly handsome._

_The first guard made his way to the window near the door to listen to the conversation taking place out the front. Beckett forgot about gazing at Castle. Her whole body tensed as the guard approached the spot where she was hiding. The second guard turned and peered out the window closet to him. The first guard looked out the window._

_Beckett rose up from her crouch and grabbed the first guard. She put her hand over the man's mouth and plunged the long bladed knife deep into his chest. She gave the knife a savage twist before she pulled it out. The man went limp in her arms and she slowly lowered him to the floor. She stepped over the body and moved towards the second guard. The second guard did not hear the attack but he did notice the prisoner become agitated._

"_What are you looking at?" The guard demanded._

_Turning around the guard saw Beckett approaching. At that same moment Beckett threw the knife. It found its target, lodging in the man's throat. As the guard started falling to the ground his finger on the trigger of the crossbow twitched, firing the arrow. It hit Beckett in the thigh. She hissed at the pain but did not stop approaching._

"_Are you from the outside?" Castle asked excitedly._

_Beckett bent over the dead guard and removed her knife from the man's throat. Wiping the blade on her pants she turned and proceeded to cut the ropes binding the President. She then stepped back and looked at him_

"_Mr President."_

_Castle stared at the woman standing in front of him. Slowly recognition swept across his face and then shock._

"_Kate?" He said hesitantly, not really believing his eyes._

_Beckett nodded her head. "Long time no see, Rick." she said softly._

_Suddenly Castle smiled. The same kind of smile that never failed to turn her legs to rubber and her stomach do somersaults. Just like it was doing right now._

_What happened to your eye?" He asked._

"_I lost it."_

"_I can see that." He said."Though the eyepatch gives you a certain exotic Amazonian quality." He grinned and waggled his eyes brows._

_Beckett rolled her eye and shook her head as her smile grew. He had not changed, she thought to herself._

_Castle's eyes dropped to the arrow sticking out of her thigh. The smile faded from his face._

"_You're hurt."_

"_I'll be fine."_

"_I don't think so." _

_Beckett glared at him. Reaching down she grabbed the arrow shaft. While still holding his gaze she twisted the shaft and then yanked it out. Through clenched teeth she let out a loud hiss. She was grateful the arrow head was not barbed just sharpened to a point. _

"_That...was...wow." Castle said staring at her wide-eyed. "You've changed."_

_Beckett nodded her head. She had changed._

"_You're bleeding." He pointed out._

_Beckett found an old rag in a pocket and quickly wrapped it around her thigh._

"_It's good to see you, Kate." Castle said in a low voice._

_Beckett smiled back. As much as she might have wanted to talk about old times Beckett knew that she had to get him out of here as quickly as possible._

"_Come on Mr President, let's get you out of here."_

_XXXXX_

_Getting out of the rail car and back up to the surface had been easier that Beckett thought it would be. Castle remained silent as they made their way through the subway. She was grateful for his silence but knowing the man she knew that he would have been dying to make some smart quip._

_Lanie, Esposito and Ryan were waiting nervously for her and the President by the cab. _

"_Hey Snake, you made it." Ryan said eagerly. "And you got the President with you, that's great, Snake."_

"_Get in the car and let's get out of here." Beckett ordered._

_Ryan was about to jump into the driver's seat but Beckett caught him by the shoulder and yanked him back._

"_What's up Snake?"_

"_I'm driving." Beckett declared. "You jump in the back."_

_Ryan was about to argue with her but two things stopped and reconsider his course of action. The first was the grim look of determination that was etched on her face. The second reason and the far ore important one was at that very moment, the alarm had been raised. The Duke's men had discovered the President had vanished and were spreading out to find him and the people who had taken him._

_Beckett jumped into the driver's seat and started up the cab. She gunned the engine a couple of times. Everyone piled into the cab. Castle found himself in the front seat beside Beckett. He flashed her a grin just as she poured on the gas. The cab sped off down Park Avenue, dodging over turned cars._

"_Cabbie, I may need you to navigate for me." Beckett called over her shoulder._

"_Sure thing, Snake." Ryan replied. He was looking out the back window and saw the Duke's men spilling out onto the street. "They've spotted us."_

"_They're going to have to catch us first." Beckett told him._

"_Where are we going anyway?" Esposito demanded._

"_You taking us to the glider?" Lanie asked._

"_Not enough room for all of us in the glider."_

_Beckett swerved to avoid crashing into a couple of overturned cars that were partially blocking the road. Leaving one hand on the wheel she reached for her radio._

"_Montgomery?" She said into the radio._

"_Beckett, what's happening?" Said the anxious voice of Commissioner Montgomery._

"_I have the President with me. Send in some rescue choppers, five for pick up, at Battery Park."_

"_Five?"_

"_Yeah, you heard right, five for pick up. Get the choppers in the air now, we have a posse in pursuit."_

_Beckett did not wait for the commissioner's response. She tossed the radio aside and concentrated on driving. Hearing a chuckle she glanced across to Castle and saw him smirking._

"_What?" She snarled._

"_I love it when you're bossy." He chuckled._

_At Union square Beckett found a large barricade of cars blocking the road ahead. Thanks to Ryan's directions she took 4th Avenue and then turning onto East 10th before jumping on to Broadway._

"_Nice, driving Snake." Ryan said._

_They had travelled along for a couple of hundred yards before Castle spoke._

"_Umm...Kate?" Castle ventured. _

"_Yes?"_

"_Why do they call you Snake?"_

"_It's because of my tattoo." She told him._

"_You have a tattoo?" A stunned look was plastered on his face. "You have a tattoo?"_

_Beckett knew immediately she had made a mistake admitting to him that she had a snake tattoo._

"_Yeah I have a tattoo." she sighed._

"_Where?"_

_Beckett slid a glance in his direction._

"_That's for me to know..."_

"_And for me to find out." Castle said finishing her sentence. He smiled. "I could order you. I'm the President, you know?"_

"_Now where would the fun be in that, Rick?"_

"_I am going to find out." Castle said with determination._

"_I know you will." she gave him a smile that held so much promise._

_Beckett turned her attention to driving, sliding the car from one side of the road to the other, trying avoid half demolished barricades and other debris that littered the street. In the rear view mirror she saw several cars following them. The pursuers were still some distance away but she could see that they were gaining._

"_Umm...Kate...what kind is it?" Castle asked cautiously._

"_What kind is what?"_

"_What kind of snake is your tattoo?"_

"_I'm not going to tell you." Beckett shot back._

"_It is a python?"_

"_No."_

"_Sidewinder?"_

"_No."_

"_Diamondback?_

"_No."_

_In the back seat Lanie, Esposito and Ryan exchanged bewildered looks. Here they were fleeing for their lives and those two in the front, the President and the famous Snake Beckett were bantering._

"_Cobra?" Castle persisted._

"_No."_

"_King Cobra?"_

"_No."_

"_I will find out, you know. I know quite a few snakes." Castle said grinning. "I have all night."_

"_Well I don't." Beckett growled, trying to concentrate on driving._

"_Mamba? Black Mamba?"_

"_No and no."_

"_Coastal Taipan?"_

"_No."_

"_Inland Taipan?"_

"_No."_

"_Brown?"_

"_No."_

"_King Brown?"_

"_Mr President, enough all ready!" Beckett said in frustration._

"_Tiger?"_

"_No."_

"_Anaconda?"_

"_Rick, please stop."_

_As the cab reached an intersection a car came screaming through on their right. Beckett saw the car at the last moment and spun the wheel throwing the cab to the left. The intercepting car clipped the cab sending it spinning in the direction of a derelict building. Beckett managed to get control jumped on the gas and threw the cab to the right. The cab careered past the building front and back onto the road and sped away. The intercepting car turned in pursuit._

"_Coral?" Castle piped up once the screams from the back seat had died down._

"_No."_

"_Death adder?"_

_Beckett turned her head and looked at his smiling face. He seemed unfazed that they had almost been t-boned. Despite herself she found herself returning his smile. She shook her head._

"_Puff adder?"_

"_Nope."_

"_European Asp?"_

"_No."_

"_Egyptian Asp?"_

"_No."_

"_Viper?"_

_In the back seat Ryan let out a long sigh. He looked across to Esposito and Lanie._

"_Why can't they play 'I spy' like normal people?" he muttered._

_XXXX_

_They had passed the old City Hall building. Beckett checked her review mirror and saw that the pursuers were now very closed. She counted at least half a dozen cars crammed with armed people speeding towards them. The cab was going as fast as it's old carcase could go. Battery Park was less than half a mile away but it was going to be touch and go if they would get there unscathed._

_In the distance hovering over the harbour she saw the blinking lights of the waiting helicopters._

"_Rick give me the radio." Beckett demanded._

_Castle had to hunt around for the discarded radio. Finding it he quickly passed it over._

"_Montgomery, we're less than a mile from the LZ. The posse is right on our tail." She called. "Could use some help down here."_

_A pair of helicopters detached themselves from the group hovering over the harbour and moved inland. They swooped low over the speeding cab. Suddenly the night time was lit up with tracer fire and rockets. Loud explosions erupted and cars flew into the air in several directions as the pursuing posse was eliminated._

"_Holy cow!" Ryan exclaimed as he watched the show from the back window._

"_You said it bro." Esposito replied as he watched, fascinated by the explosions._

_Beckett planted her foot on the gas pedal as she approached the entrance to the park. The cab bounced over the kerb and ploughed through the small barricade that guarded the entrance to the park. Everyone in the cab was thrown about violently. She thought about offering an apology for not informing them about the barricade but she did not bother. Her eyes were focused on the clearing ahead where a pair of helicopters had landed. A ring of soldiers surrounded the aircraft. She sped towards them._

_The cab skidded to a halt close the helicopter and everyone piled out of it. While the others headed for the safety of the rescue helicopter Beckett hung back looking back the way they had come, her gun was at the ready. She spotted an armed man running towards her. A short burst from her submachine gun made quick work of the attacker. She saw in the darkness other people emerge and come running towards her._

"_Kate, come on!" Castle screamed above the noise of the helicopters._

_Beckett slowly walked backwards towards the waiting helicopter, her eyes never leaving the approaching people. Arrows flew through air in her direction, but they flew high and wide of her. She fired another burst from her gun, keeping the attackers at bay and quickly limped to the helicopter._

_Castle was hanging out of the helicopter and reached down grabbing hold of her, and hauling her into the aircraft. A moment later the helicopter lifted off._

"_I haven't had so much fun in years, Kate." Castle shouted above the noise. _

_Beckett lay on the floor trying to catch her breath. She looked up to see his smiling face. She rolled her eye and shook her head._

_XXXX_

_A few minutes later the helicopter touched down. A number of people rushed to helicopter. Castle was surrounded by Presidential aides and Secret Service agents and taken off the aircraft. Ryan, Esposito and Lanie were also taken off and led away. Beckett slowly got off the floor of the helicopter and jumped down to the ground. She winced visibly as pain shot through her wounded leg. Catching her breath she limped away from the chopper. Looking over to where Castle was standing there were more people surrounding him. She stared at the scene for a moment or two with a sad smile on her face. She turned her head and started to limp away. Her leg was killing her. It had not been one of her better ideas to pull out the arrow out the way she had, she thought to herself._

_The medic came rushing up to her holding up a pair of medical paddles. He looked hesitantly at her. Beckett glared at him a moment before nodding her head. The medic quickly neutralised the explosive charges and then stepped away._

"_Would you like me to take a look at your leg?"_

"_Nah, I'm fine." Beckett said and continued moving away._

_She had gone only a short distance when suddenly a strong arm wrapped itself around her waist lending her support. Looking up she saw a smiling Castle beside her. For a moment she thought about shrugging off his assistance but changed her mind and lent into him letting him take most of her weight._

"_You're not getting away from me that easily, Kate." Castle said in a low voice. Beckett nodded her head._

_They made their way towards the roof top elevator slowly trailing the various Presidential hangers-on._

_As they reached the elevator Beckett saw Montgomery standing close by watching them._

"_Do you still want to kill me, Beckett?" He asked, a half smile on his face._

_Beckett regarded Montgomery for a moment. She finally shook her head. "Too tired." she said. "Maybe tomorrow."_

_Montgomery chuckled to himself as he watched Castle and Beckett waiting for the elevator to arrive._

"_Common adder?" Castle suggested._

"_No."_

"_Boa Constrictor?"_

"_Uh..." Beckett said._

"_Really?" Castle said with surprise._

"_No!"_

"_Copperhead?"_

"_Rick, stop!"_

"_I'm going to find out, you know?"_

"_Or I could show you?"_

_Castle opened his mouth but no words came out. He turned and looked at her smiling face. The surprise quickly disappeared from his face and was replaced with a very big smile. He hugged her close to him..._

….Castle opened his eyes and he could not keep the smile from his face as the dream lingered in his thoughts. He tried hard to keep hold of it but it faded away now that he came fully awake. The smile remained on his face as he thought of a certain New York Police detective. He did not know how or why but deep down he knew that she was coming to get him. It was a rock solid feeling that he had from the moment he had woken up.

As much as he would have liked to sit there on the cot and think about Kate Beckett, he turned his attention to the wall. He could not just sit around waiting and doing nothing. Slowly he pulled at the brick and removed it from the wall. He leaned down and peer through the hole. His eyes lit up at the sight that confronted him. It was night time he saw. What made his eyes light up was the sight of the fence less than a hundred feet away. As his yes adjusted to the darkness he could just make out scrub land beyond the fence. If he could get out of his cell and get over the fence somehow, he could hide in the scrub until help arrived, he thought to himself with rising confidence.

He moved to a kneeling position in front of the wall and set to working trying to prise the next brick from the wall. The brick wobbled and moved as his fingers scraped at the mortar. His chest throbbed from his exertion and his breathing became laboured but he ignored the pain and pushed on. He was not about to give up when freedom was so close.

"I am pleased to see that you have found an activity to keep you amused, Mr Castle."

Castle felt his heart sink at the sound of Mr Smith's voice. He had not even heard the man walk into the cell. He did not think he had been that noisy when he was working on the wall. He rested his head against the wall and let out a long sigh of frustration and disappointment. Slowly he lifted his head off the wall and turned to face Mr Smith.

His jailer was standing by the open door with arms folded across his chest. An amused smile on his face. Castle noticed the holstered gun resting on the man's right hip. He could not recall having seen the man wearing a gun previously. The sight of the gun did not bode well, Castle thought to himself.

Castle forced an apologetic smile to his face and then shrugged his shoulders.

"Have you found my hospitality lacking, Mr Castle?"

"If you don't mind me saying, it leaves a lot to be desired." Castle said.

"I'm wounded to hear you say that."

"I think you'll recover."

Mr Smith laughed. "Yes, I'm sure."

Castle eyed the pistol on the man's hip. The feeling of hope that he had woken up with now started to fade away.

"You said you would be honest with me?" Castle said.

"That is correct."

"You're going to kill me aren't you?"

The smile on Mr Smith vanished in an instant. He nodded his head.

Castle closed his eyes as the pain in his chest intensified. It was more than just the physical pain. He took a calming breath and exhaled slowly and then opened his eyes to look at the man standing in front of the door.

"Do I get a last request?" He asked.

"If it is within reason." Mr Smith replied.

"I'd like a burger and fries." Castle announced.

"I think that could be managed, Mr Castle."

"From Remy's in New York."

Mr Smith's face clouded a little with annoyance. It lasted for a few moments before it transformed with the smile that spread.

"Oh very good, Mr Castle." Mr Smith said laughing. "Very good indeed."

"And ketchup" Castle added with a humourless smile.

"I like a man who faces death with humour." Mr Smith said. "As much as I would like to agree to that request, I'm afraid it can't be done."

Castle shrugged his shoulders.

Mr Smith unfolded his arms and took a step forward.

"You're not going to shoot me in here are you?" Castle said hurriedly.

"It seems as good a place as any, Mr Castle."

"I'd like to see the stars before I die."

Mr Smith paused as he pondered Castle's request. A grin appeared on his face as he nodded his head.

"That I can agree to, Mr Castle."

Castle nodded his head. His mind was all ready racing. Once outside he might have a chance of escape. It was slim chance, a very slim chance but it was a chance.

"Could I call my daughter?" Castle asked. "To tell her good-bye and that I love her?"

"No." Mr Smith said firmly.

"Could I call Detective Beckett, then?"

"Definitely not."

"You don't understand, she'll kill me if I don't call her to say good-bye."

Mr Smith laughed loudly.

"Ah Mr Castle, I shall miss your humour."

A smiling Mr Smith took another step forward and motioned to Castle to get off the bed. Castle slowly got to his feet, wincing in pain. His left hand clutched at his chest.

"Don't worry, Mr Castle," Mr Smith said, "soon you wont have to worry about the pain."

Castle glared at the man.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Your review, opinions and thoughts are always welcome.**

**Regards**

**Con**


	24. Chapter 24

**Well this journey is drawing to a close, I have about two chapters to go. This chapter is a little shorter than my previous chapters but I hope you enjoy it.**

**Warning: Another cliffhanger ending ahead.**

Chapter 24

Kate Beckett walked into the armoury hut. She was now dressed in a black combat uniform. Finding kit that would fit her took a little time. She also wore a bulky ballistic vest similar to what she wore when storming a suspect premises. This one she wore was black. The boots she wore were heavy but comfortable. She would have preferred if they had a three inch heel but that was a very minor matter in the scheme of things. Her hair had been tied up into a ponytail.

Ryan and Esposito were in the room checking out the weapons they had chosen. They were dressed similarly. Esposito nudged his partner and nodded his head at Kate. They both stared open mouthed on seeing Kate.

Kate nodded to the two detectives then walked over to the weapons officer standing behind a bench.

"What would you like?" The man asked in a cheerful voice.

"I'll take a SIG Sauer P226 and a HK MP-5." She replied.

"Good choice." The weapons master grinned. He turned around and reached up to the wrack on the wall behind him and selected one of the holstered pistols. He placed it on the bench.

Kate removed the SIG Sauer 9mm pistol from the holster and checked it. She was very familiar with this weapon because she used a similar weapon back home. Ejecting the ammunition clip she checked to see that it was full before returning it back into its place with the heel of her hand, then she cocked it. Making the gun safe she returned the pistol to the holster. Taking the belt with the weapon she strapped it around her waist. She made sure that the weapon sat well against her right hip and was easy to reach. Once satisfied she picked up the spare ammunition clips that the weapons officer had placed on the bench and shoved them into one of the pockets of her vest.

Kate then hefted the submachine gun that was favoured by most special forces units around the world. She liked the balance and feel of it. Like the pistol she checked the weapon. Her training in handling weapons coming easily to her. She made sure the chamber was empty before raising it towards the ceiling and peered down the sight. The weapons master watched her carefully and nodded his head in approval.

Nodding her approval Kate brought the submachine gun down and pointed it to the ground. She removed the ammunition clip and saw that it was empty.

"I see you know how to handle it." The weapons officer remarked as he handed her a full magazine clip for the MP-5.

Kate nodded her head. She checked to see that the clip was full.

"Yo Beckett, are you going all Sara Connor on us?" Esposito called out as he stared at her.

Beckett glared back at Esposito. Without taking her eyes off him she rammed home the ammunition clip into her MP-5 and cocked it, ready for action. She set the weapon on safe.

"You think I was just going to sit around here twiddling my thumbs, Esposito?"

She slung the weapon around her neck and then gathered up the spare ammunition clips that the weapons officer had placed on the bench depositing them into another pocket.

Esposito nodded his head slowly and then allowed a small smile to appear on his face. He had been betting that the colonel would not let her come along on the mission but he should have known better. From the look on her face he could see there was no army on Earth that was going to stop her. It was one the few times he was happy to hand over a twenty dollar bill into Ryan's outstretched hand.

"Pleasure doing business with you, dude." Ryan chuckled as he shoved the money into a pocket.

The weapons officer handed the three detectives several items of equipment that they might need on the mission. The three detectives were now good to go.

Colonel Valentine now dressed in black combat fatigues poked his head through the door and looked at Kate.

"You all ready?"

"Ready, Colonel." Kate replied, speaking for all three of them.

"Then let's roll people."

Outside the hut Colonel Valentine directed the detectives to the large dark blue van. Behind the van were four dark coloured SUVs.

Valentine pulled Esposito aside.

"Tell me about Beckett." he said in a low voice.

"What do you want to know?" Esposito replied shooting the Colonel a questioning look.

"Can she handle herself?"

"Yeah, she can handle herself."

"I don't mean taking down a suspect."

"She can handle herself, sir." Esposito said firmly.

Valentine raised an eyebrow at the other man.

"I trust her with my life eyeryday, sir."

Valentine saw that Esposito had more to say, and nodded his head for the other man to continue.

"Not too long ago Ryan and I got kidnapped by four ex-military types and held in a warehouse. They tortured us to get information they thought we had. Beckett took them all on any without backup, took three of them down with her service pistol."

"What about the fourth man?"

Esposito grinned. "Castle took care of him."

"Castle?"

Esposito shook his head as he recalled the scene. Even now he could still not believe what he had witnessed that night. Never in his wildest dreams did he think that he would see what he saw that night.

"Yeah, should have seen it Colonel." Esposito said. "Castle comes flying out of nowhere and unarmed..."

"Unarmed?"

"Yeah, jumps this guy who was about to shoot Beckett and..."

"And what?"

"Castle punched the shit out of the guy."

A grin appeared on Valentine's face as he weighed what Esposito told him. The smile grew a little more as he nodded his head.

"Good to know." Valentine replied. He clapped Esposito on the back propelling him towards the van. Valentine was the last to climb into the van. Before sliding the door closed he looked to the other SUVs whose engines were idling. He made a circle motion with his hand. The small convoy of vehicles pulled out of the parking lot.

XXXX

Kate was seated on the small bench at the rear of the windowless van. Her gaze was focused on the floor, lost in her own thoughts. She was grateful that the interior of the van was bathed in red from the night lamp in the ceiling. She had barely noticed when the van pulled up at the border crossing. Nor did she notice when the van had picked up speed again a few minutes later leaving the border crossing behind. Her stomach was in knots but it was nothing new for her. It was a familiar feeling,one she felt every time before they broke down a door in search of a suspect. This time it was different.

She was feeling more nervous than usual. Her mind went through the various scenarios that might confront her once she burst into the warehouse. She tried hard to keep her mind blank, to banish all the thoughts that were plaguing her, all the ways the rescue mission could go wrong. Unable to rid herself of these thoughts she decided to focus her thoughts on Castle and getting him out.

She was drawn from her thoughts by the announcement that they were approaching the rendezvous point. She felt the van slow down. She came out of her reveries and turned to look in the direction of the front of the van. It was only then that she noticed the communications panel and laptop where a soldier was seated at concentrating on the laptop screen.

"We'll have a final briefing here, people." Colonel Valentine announced. Kate gave a slight nod of her head.

Sitting opposite Kate were Ryan and Esposito. Both men were clutching their M4 carbines. Esposito and Ryan had started the journey joking and bantering good naturedly, then they were talking in hushed tones but soon they had fallen into silence. They were as concerned as Kate was. She gave them a brief encouraging smile.

Kate felt the van turn off the road they had been travelling on. A moment later the van came to a halt. Colonel Valentine opened the van door and got out. Kate, Ryan and Esposito followed him out grateful for the chance to stretch their legs.

XXXXXX

Colonel Valentine, Captain Wesley and the other team leaders were standing around the hood of one of the SUVs. Kate, Ryan and Esposito were with them. All the members of the rescue team were now wearing communications headsets.

A hand drawn map of the warehouse was spread out on the hood, and a flashlight held up by Captain Wesley was providing illumination.

"Beckett, Esposito, Ryan..." Valentine said. "I'm designating you Team Charlie. Your job will be to locate and rescue Castle is that clear?"

"Understood." Kate replied.

"As of five minutes ago Castle is still located here." Valentine said pointing to the eastern side of the warehouse plan.

"Good." Kate replied.

"You'll ride in Scotty's car." Valentine added, pointing to a soldier standing beside him. Kate glanced in the man's direction. She noticed that Scotty was was weighed down with more equipment than all of the other soldiers.

"Scotty is also a medic, amongst his many talents." Valentine explained. Kate nodded her head in understanding.

"The other teams will neutralise the bad guys." Valentine continued with the briefing "They will then provide back up to Charlie team should they need it."

All heads nodded their understanding.

"McBride and Jennings will be with the comms van. Delta Team will take the south gate, Charlie Team will take the west entrance, Bravo Team will take the east entrance, and Alpha team will take the main entrance to the north. We will roll in that order and go in that way. Just before we arrive to crash the party the snipers will take out the guards any patrols on the perimeter fence. Any questions?" Valentine looked up from the map to the faces around him. Everyone shook their heads.

"We're five minutes away from the target." Valentine said checking his watch. "Let's mount up and start rolling. Good luck everyone."

Everyone silently dispersed to the waiting SUVs. Kate and her two partners followed Scotty to his SUV. She got into front seat next to Scotty while Ryan and Esposito got into the back seat. The vehicles quickly got into order and headed back to the main road.

XXXXXX

Kate turned from staring at the tail of the vehicle in front and looked across to the driver. Scotty was keeping very close to the car ahead. The illumination from the dashboard revealed a relaxed look on his face. The convoy of cars were speeding along the dark road. She did not want to think what would happen if the vehicle in front had to hit the brakes. Her stomach was in more knots than before. She clutched at her submachine gun, her finger nervously tapping the trigger guard.

In her mind she went over the map of the warehouse and Castle's location. She estimated his location was no more than twenty or thirty feet from the door on the west side of the building. What bothered her was that nobody knew exactly what was stored in the warehouse. That was a problem that they would have to confront when the time came. She just prayed that there were no obstructions in getting to Castle.

She looked over her shoulder to see both Esposito and Ryan were wearing grim expressions on their faces. They were looks she knew well. She had seen those looks countless times before when they had to storm a suspect's building. No doubt the expression on her face mirrored their own.

Esposito caught her gaze. He flashed her brief encouraging smile and nodded his head. She returned the nod but could not find a smile within her. Both Esposito and Ryan would never know how grateful she was having them with her on this mission. What touched her the most was that they simply had shown up without being asked. She would never have asked them to come along.

"This is Alpha 1, comms check people." Valentine's voice came over her headset. In less than a minute all the members of the rescue team reported their readiness.

As the road curved Kate saw in the distance the outline of the warehouse in the muted light. She clutched at her gun even harder as her heart rate started to rise. She had to force herself to take a couple of deep calming breaths. The convoy of vehicles picked up speed.

"Alpha 1 to sniper posts, take out the bad guys." Valentine ordered. "We're going in."

Kate barely heard the response from the sniper teams moments later. The lead car barrelled through the open front gate and then veered sharply to the left and sped along the side of the warehouse. Scotty threw their vehicle sharply to the right.

"Get ready to jump out people." Scotty announced.

Seconds later Scotty slammed on the brakes and swerved to have the SUV pointing at the door. Kate, Esposito and Ryan flew out of the vehicle and raced for the half open door. The night was suddenly filled with the sound of screeching tyres and gunshots. In her headset she heard voices of team members as they reported in but she ignored it as she took up a crouching position by the side of the door.

Esposito took up a spot on the other side of the doorway with Ryan beside him. Esposito looked over to Kate and gave her a nod that he was good to go. Kate nodded back. She held up three fingers and silently counted them down.

Taking a deep breath Kate stood up and faced the half open door with one swift kick the door flew open. With a racing heart she rushed into the warehouse. Esposito was right behind her with Ryan following him in.

The warehouse was not well lit a few lights in the roof provided barely enough light to see where they were going. The whole warehouse erupted in short bursts of gunfire and explosions. Kate reached an intersection and paused crouching low. Esposito and Ryan sidled up beside her.

There was an increase in the chatter on the radios. Kate continued to ignore the radio. She peered around the corner and found the corridor clear. She tapped Esposito and pointed to the other side of the intersection. He nodded an rose to his feet. As Kate rose from her crouch and peered around the corner Esposito dashed across and took up a firing position. He nodded to her that he was in position to provide covering fire.

Kate nodded back. She came around the corner and started down the corridor. She had run only a few feet when she suddenly skidded to a halt and raised her gun.

XXXXXXXXX

**I'm editing the next chapter at the moment and it should be posted in about twelve hours, hopefully sooner.**

**Kindest regards**

**Con**


	25. Chapter 25

**As promised here is the next chapter of the story; the cavalry has arrived. I have only one more chapter to go.**

**A bit of a warning; NO cliffhanger this time! But there a little violence.**

**Enjoy.**

Chapter 25

Castle glared at the smiling Mr Smith. He clutched at his chest. As he had started to rise from the cot his hand brushed over the brick he had removed from the wall. For a moment he thought about grabbing hold of the brick and throwing it at the other man. He discarded the thought as quickly as it had popped into his head. He did not have the strength to throw the heavy brick much less have the accuracy to hit the intended target. Mr Smith was watching him carefully. Castle knew that the man could have the gun out and pointed at him before he could throw the brick.

Castle struggled to catch his breath. The pain in his chest had grown worse and he had to force himself to take slow breaths but even shallow breaths were not doing much to ease the pain in his chest. His heart was pounding rapidly causing more pain.

Mr Smith stood aside and motioned with his hand to the open door. Castle shuffled slowly towards the door. Castle wanted to get outside. Once out in the open he might have a chance, he thought to himself. It was a very slim chance if he was being realistic but it was still a chance.

Over the years there had been moments, times where he would wonder how his life would end. Usually it would be when he was at his laptop typing out another chapter of the latest book he was working on. Since meeting Beckett he had added a few more possibilities but never once did he think he would be killed in some dingy old warehouse in Mexico. This could have come out of the pages of one of his novels. That thought made him smile as he paused.

"Having second thoughts, Mr Castle?" Mr Smith asked as he came up behind him.

"Just trying to catch my breath." Castle replied.

"No time to dawdle." Mr Smith prodded Castle in the back with his gun.

"What's the hurry?" Castle said, glancing over his shoulder.

"I have other things to do, Mr Castle." Mr Smith said. "I am a busy man."

"I thought you wanted to discuss my books?" Castle said hurriedly. "I would be pleased to answer any questions you might have."

"Alas that is a pleasure I will have to forego."

"You really don't know what you're missing."

"I will have to live with the disappointment."

"And you haven't even asked me for my autograph." Castle whined.

"Enough, Mr Castle, keep moving." Mr Smith replied in an exasperated tone.

"I mean it's no trouble, I'd be happy to sign my autograph for you. I could sign autographs for the rest of the guys out there. It's no trouble really. Have you got some paper and a pen?"

The silence of the warehouse was shattered by the sound of screeching tyres and moments later by gunfire. Several loud explosion ripped through the warehouse followed by more gunfire. There were shouts and screams and more gunfire.

Mr Smith growled out a few choice expletives in Spanish. He grabbed Castle by his shirt and pushed him out the door of the cell into the corridor.

XXXXXXX

Kate stopped in her tracks and raised her gun. She stared at the two men standing a short distance away. The moment her eyes took in Castle, his battered and bruised face, the way he leaned forward and clutching at his chest her shock turned to anger. Someone was going to pay for doing that to Castle.

"Beltran, let him go!" Kate shouted.

Beltran seeing the armed woman confronting him hid behind Castle and shoved the gun into Castle's chest. Castle let out a sharp yelp of pain.

Despite the pain Castle's face lit up with a lopsided smile on seeing Kate before him. His jaw hurt but right now he did not care. His heart soared at the sight of her. For a moment he thought he must be dreaming again. Hope started burning brightly.

"Kate, you came." He called out.

"Ah, this is the famous Detective Kate Beckett?" Beltran said with some admiration in his voice as he spoke to Castle "She is even more attractive than I imagined. Photographs do not do her justice."

"Yeah, I agree." Castle said, smiling at Kate.

"My compliments, Mr Castle, you have quite the eye for beauty."

"Thanks, I like to think so." Castle chuckled.

Kate could not believe her ears. Here they were in the middle of a hostage situation, a situation which could turn deadly at any moment and here was the hostage and captor discussing her.

"Beltran I said let him go." Kate repeated.

Castle turned his head a little to look at the man behind him.

"Beltran, that's your real name?" He asked.

"It is."

"So why go with Mr Smith? Ashamed of it are you?"

Beltran poked Castle with the gun, making him hiss from the pain.

The gunfire had stopped. In her headset Kate heard team members reporting that the bad guys were down and the warehouse was secured.

"_Delta Two, I have a clear shot on the subject."_

"_Bravo Three, clear shot on subject."_

"Charlie Two, I have a clear shot." Esposito reported.

"Everyone hold your fire." Kate ordered, almost shouting. "I repeat, hold your fire."

Kate continued to stare at Castle and Beltran. She knew that the soldiers were the best in the business but she had not come all the way down here to see Castle get shot by some stray bullet.

The soldiers who had Beltran in their sights appealed to the Colonel for permission to shoot.

"Hold your fire." Colonel Valentine ordered in firm voice. "Charlie One the play is yours."

Kate almost nodded her head in response. Taking a deep calming breath and exhaling slowly she continued to stare at Castle and the man holding him hostage. She remembered the briefing back at the base. Beltran was a dangerous man. Now he was dangerous and cornered. Faced with a situation like this he was liable to do anything.

"Beltran you're surrounded, let Castle go."

"I don't think so, Detective Beckett." Beltran said. "I am going to walk out of here with Mr Castle and you are not going to stop me."

"That's not going to happen." Kate shook her head firmly.

"I know it will, Detective." Beltran said with a humourless laugh.

Kate was not going to let Beltran walk out of the warehouse taking Castle with him. That would be a sure fire way to ensure Castle's death. She was not going to let that happen.

"It's not going to happen, Beltran."

"Then we have a stand off, Detective Beckett."

"Hey guys we have a real Mexican stand off." Castle piped up, grinning.

Kate rolled her eyes. Trust Castle to find humour in a tense life and death situation. Kate heard chuckling coming from behind her. She was not sure if it was Ryan or Esposito doing the chuckling but she was not about to turn around to find out.

"Hey, Kate do you know this reminds me of that Steven Segal movie we saw." Castle called out.

"Castle, you're not helping here." Kate said

"You should listen to Detective Beckett, Mr Castle." Beltran said, pressing the barrel of the gun against Castle's chest. Castle winced at the sudden pain but his eyes were focused on the woman standing a short distance in front of him. He hoped that his eyes conveyed the complete trust he had in her and what he was trying to tell with his words without his words giving it away.

"Oh, Kate I can't believe you can't remember it." Castle whined as if Beltran was not standing behind him poking a gun into his chest.

Kate remembered too well. She remembered what he was talking about like it was yesterday. For a moment she was back in the squad room at the 12th precinct on that fateful day. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at Castle. Her whole body tensed as she waited for the next move, hoping and praying that the outcome would be the same like the last time.

She almost rolled her eyes when she saw Castle wink at her. Her finger curled around the trigger of her gun. She watched Castle intently. Her heart was pounding. She could hardly breathe.

"Order your people to back away or I will shoot, Mr Castle." Beltran said confidently.

"No."

"Perhaps I will shoot you instead Detective Beckett?"

Kate saw Beltran lift the gun he had on Castle and slowly turn his hand to point the weapon in her direction. She also saw Castle mouth the word 'no'.

Suddenly the writer leaned his head forward and then threw it back hard catching Beltran square on the nose. He heard a loud crack of cartilage. Pain blossomed in the back of his head making him gasp. Beltran let out an outraged howl of pain as blood poured out of his smashed nose but he released his hold on Castle as he staggered back from the impact of the blow. Castle stumbled away, falling to his knees.

Kate lifted her gun slightly and pulled on the trigger. Three bullets hit Beltran in the chest just as he was lifting his gun. The man stumbled back and crumpled to the ground.

Kate rushed over to Castle putting her arm around his shoulder trying to help him to his feet but her gun was still trained on the man she had shot. Ryan ran up and helped her with the writer.

Esposito ran to where Beltran's body lay and kicked away the pistol from his hand. Bending down he made sure the man was dead.

Kate stared at the body. Esposito looked up at her.

"Scratch one bad guy." He said with a grin.

Kate nodded her head. She turned her attention to Castle putting her arm around his waist to steady him. She then turned to look at the dead man again.

"No one kidnaps my..."

"Man?" Castle offered hopefully.

Kate turned back to Castle. "I was going to say friend..." her face suddenly broke into a warm smile, " but _my man,_ will do."

Castle returned her smile and wiggled his eyebrows.

Colonel Valentine emerged from the shadows. He paused by the body and looked down.

"Nice shooting Detective Beckett." Valentine said. A smile came to his lips. "Very nice shooting, heart shots, nice patten too."

"I was aiming for his head." Kate said simply. Colonel Valentine looked over to Kate and chuckled.

"Kate, I can't believe you came." Castle gasped as he stared at the woman wielding the submachine gun in her left hand and her other arm wrapped around him.

"I told you I'd get you out, Castle." Kate told him.

"I...I...thought it was just your seductive way of keeping me off balance?" Despite the pain he was in he still could smile.

Kate smiled at him. The deep worry of the past few days slowly ebbed away in that smile of his. He had no idea how relieved she was to find him alive.

"No Rick," She bent close to him. "It was a promise."

Castle gazed into those smouldering and intense green eyes. She held his gaze.

"And I always keep my promises." She added.

"Does that mean you're going to shoot me?" Castle asked with sudden alarm. "You've been promising that for years."

Kate rolled her eyes and shook her head but she continued to smile at him.

"You'll just have to stay on your toes then, wont you?"

Castle could only nod his head in agreement his smile deepening.

"Come on Castle let's get you home. You're probably been missing your own bed." She said.

Castle nodded his head again.

"I've been keeping it warm for you." She added in what she thought was a low voice.

A look of stunned disbelief chased away the smile from his face. He stared silently at her for some moments. Slowly a big grin swept across his face.

"What?" She said. She saw the looks on Esposito and Ryan's faces. They had heard what she had said. She could feel the heat rise to her cheeks.

"I knew I'd get you into my bed one of these days." He chuckled. "But part of the plan was for me to be there as well."

"Rick, not in front of the children." She chided gently.

Esposito and Ryan burst out laughing.

Colonel Valentine chose that moment to order every one back to the cars.

"Alpha One to all team members, play time's over." He announced. "Time to go home."

XXXXXX

Castle was taken to the van where Scotty quickly patched him up. He diagnosed a couple of cracked ribs. Being a medic in the Special Forces where guys trained hard to fight hard and played even harder, cracked or broken ribs was not an unusual affliction. He quickly taped up the ribs and gave him something for the pain. Then he dealt with the bruises and cuts.

Soon after that the van as well as the rest of the convoy were on the road heading for home. In the back of the van Castle was resting against Kate. Her arms were wrapped possessively around him but trying not to cause him any more pain than he was all ready in. It did not look like she would let him go any time soon. For the first couple of miles they had been silent. Castle being Castle couldn't keep quiet.

"Umm...Kate?" he said.

"Yes?"

"Kate can I say...you...and that gun...was disturbingly hot."

"Castle." She said as she rested her cheek against his.

"I had a dream about you, you know?" Castle said breaking the silence that had fallen between them. "Several, actually."

"Really?" Kate replied, an amused smile settling on her lips.

"Yeah...you were wearing an eye patch..."

Kate lifted up her head so that she could look at him. "You dreamt of me as a pirate?"

"Well, not exactly."

"Don't tell me it was one of your clothing optional dreams, me wearing an eyepatch and not much else?"

"Hey, now there's an idea!" Castle chuckled, warming to the suggestion.

"Castle!"

"No you were fully clothed, tight black leather pants and a figure hugging black tee shirt...and an eye patch." He informed her and then grinned and waggled his eyebrows.

Kate brought her lips close to his ear.

"Are you in pain, Castle?" She asked.

"At the moment, no."

"Well keep this up and you soon will be." She warned.

At the front of the van Colonel Valentine observed the scene between the writer and the detective. He turned to find Esposito and Ryan grinning. He had witnessed the banter and innuendo between Castle and Beckett after Beltran had been taken down and now it had started up again.

"Tell me are those two always like this?" He asked.

"Yes sir, Colonel." Esposito replied.

"And we wouldn't have any other way." Ryan added.

XXXXX

**As always I really like to hear your thoughts and opinions.**

**Kindest regards**

**Con**


	26. Chapter 26 Epilogue

**So we have finally reached the end of our journey, dear readers. I hope you like it.**

Chapter 26

Epilogue

Kate felt exhausted as she slowly approached the half open door. After flying in from Texas on the private jet that some one, she had no idea who, had organised she had almost caused a scene at the airport. Thinking about it now caused her cheeks to burn with embarrassment. She had wanted to go with Castle to the hospital. She had insisted that she go with him. Captain Montgomery who had met the plane on the tarmac with a waiting ambulance had other ideas and ordered that she go back to the precinct with him as there were some things that had to be cleared up.

She had been on the point of exploding when Castle had told her to go with the captain, that he would be all right, they were taking him to the hospital for a check up and he would see her back at the the loft later on. Reluctantly she had agreed.

The morning and afternoon had passed in a blur of briefings and telephone calls to notify some people, though the most important calls, Castle's family and Lanie, Kate had done before the plane had left Texas. She had thanked a few people for their help. There were more briefings after the calls until she was almost dead on her feet. Captain Montgomery finally praised her unofficially for a good job, then put her in a squad car and sent her home to the loft.

At Castle's front door she had found Sergeant Mavros still standing guard. She had not wanted to meet him because of her disappearing act but he had been good about it when she tried to apologise. He sent her into the loft with the words that she owed him.

Stepping into the loft she was immediately swamped by two redheads and an over excited Medical Examiner. They all hugged her and peppered her with a barrage of questions. Kate tried to answer a few questions but her eyes kept darting in the direction of Castle's other women got the hint and let Kate go. The question and answer session could wait for another time.

Kate paused at the door and used her hand to comb back her hair she could not remember the last time she had run a brush though it. It was only at this moment that she realised that she was still wearing the military kit from earlier in the morning, minus the ballistic vest. In all that had gone on during the day she had forgotten to change clothes.

She pushed the door further open and found Castle sitting up in bed propped up against some pillows with his laptop open laying in his lap. He was busy typing away. She smiled as she watched him for a moment and was relieved to see that the colour had returned to his face. The swelling over his eye had begun to fade though the bruise was still stark.

"Hey Castle." she called out softly.

"Kate."

The bright beaming smile he sent in her direction sent a flutter through her heart. She returned his smile as she approached the bed.

"You look terrible." Castle remarked. He closed the laptop and set it on the side table.

"Gee thanks, Castle you sure say the nicest things to a girl."

"No...no, I mean you look exhausted." He corrected himself hurriedly.

"Well it has been a rough few days."

Castle nodded his head in understanding.

"When did you last sleep?" He asked, concerned.

Kate shrugged her shoulders. She could not remember how long it had been, what she did remember was it had been here in this bed.

Castle shifted across and patted the space he had vacated inviting her to sit down. Kate hesitated.

"I promise to keep my hands to myself." He said.

"It's not you I'm worried about." A look of shocked surprise appeared on her face when she had realised she had spoken the thought aloud.

Castle's eyebrows shot up in surprise. A smile spread across his face as he looked up at her.

"Why my dear Detective Beckett did I hear correctly? You're afraid that you wont be able to keep your hands of my body?" His eyebrows did a little dance, jumping up and down. "Should I be concerned about my virtue?"

"Shut up Rick."

Kate sat down on the edge of the bed. Castle reached out and took her hand in both of his immediately breaking his promise to her. Kate did not mind this broken promise. He squeezed her hand gently. Kate looked down at her hand covered by his larger hands and smiled. Lifting her gaze to his face her smile broadened, matching his own.

"How you feeling?" She asked.

"Much, much better now you're here."

"What did the doctors say?"

"He said I had a big boo boo here and here." Castle said as he pointed to his black eye and bruised jaw. "And I have an even bigger boo boo here." He pointed to his chest.

Kate rolled her eyes. "You're going to milk this for all the sympathy you can get, aren't you?"

"Oh absolutely." Castle chuckled.

"What did the doctors really say?"

"Just a couple of cracked ribs, mild concussion." He informed her. "I should be good as new in a couple of weeks."

Kate nodded her head, silently grateful that was all the extent of his injuries.

"I would have been here earlier but I had to brief the captain."

Castle nodded. "Are you in trouble?"

Kate shrugged her shoulders and then shook her head. She was sure she must have broken a few police regulations in leaving New York and going to Texas and helping to organise and then execute the rescue operation but she did not care. She would have broken many more if it meant getting the man who was sitting in the bed next to her. She was sure Captain Montgomery would have her back in any case.

Her eyes fell to her hand holding Castle's. She watched as his thumb slowly stroked her hand, providing silent comfort and assurance.

Castle studied Kate's face carefully and saw how truly exhausted she was. He had seen her exhausted many times before but this time she was beyond exhaustion.

"Come on, get in." He ordered suddenly.

"Rick...I...no"

"Get in." He said firmly. Then he grinned at her. "It's not as if you haven't slept in it before."

Kate looked at him. "Aren't you concerned about your virtue?"

"I'll take the risk."

Kate hesitated biting her lower lip.

"Look, Kate you're ready to collapse and as you know I'm in no condition to pick you up off the floor which I would do regardless. Get in." Castle said. "Besides we're either too tired or injured to do anything."

Kate nodded her head. She was too tired to argue with him. She removed her hand from his and unlaced the combat boots she was wearing and then removed them. Slowly she slid into bed, sidling up close to him. She was careful not hurt him. Castle put his arm around her shoulder, drawing her closer. Gently she rested her head against chest.

"Are you sure I'm not hurting you?" Kate asked, concerned

"I'll let you know." he assured her.

Kate felt his hand start to stroke her hair. She smiled as she closed her eyes. Her arm moved protectively across his stomach. For the first time in many days her concerns and worries melted away. She felt at peace.

"Umm...Kate?" Castle asked softly.

"Yes?"

"If you were to get a snake tattoo what kind would it be?"

"What kind of question is that?" Kate said. She opened her eyes and turned to look up at Castle. "Are you on heavy pain meds or something?"

"Come on, humour me." Castle urged.

Kate thought about the question.

"That's easy." She announced after a moment. "Indian rock python."

She almost laughed at his puzzled look. She could almost see the gears in his head turning over as he pondered on her answer. The puzzled expression on Castle's face did not last long. He suddenly smiled as he remembered the case that had involved smuggling diamonds in pythons.

"Next question." He said eagerly. "Where would you put it?"

Kate gave him one of her customary death glares.

"OK, we'll put that in _'for you to know and for me to find out' _file." Castle replied, looking suitably admonished.

Once more she rested her head against his chest and enjoyed him stroking her hair. From time to time he would lean down and kiss the top of her head which never failed to send a thrill coursing through her body.

"So you dreamt about me, Rick?" She said.

"All the time."

"You're going to have to tell me about the those dreams."

"Sure...well there was one where you were an intergalactic companion and I..."

"Rick." Kate said stopping him. "I didn't mean right now."

"Oh, right..."

"Tomorrow."

"Sure..OK."

The pull of sleep was growing ever stronger with each passing moment and she did not want to fight it.

"Kate?" Castle said in a low voice.

"Mmmm?"

"In all the excitement of today I forgot to tell you something."

"Tell me in the morning, Rick." Kate murmured sleepily.

"No, I have to tell your right now."

It was the tone of his voice that made her curious. Opening her eyes she turned to look up at his face. The intense look on his face made her catch her breath and sent her heart racing madly.

"Thank you for getting me out."

Kate smiled up at him. "Always."

Lanie was ready to head for home and to her own man waiting there but she wanted to check on Castle one final time before she left and also to say her good-byes to Kate. She and Alexis walked into the bedroom and stopped dead in their tracks on finding Kate and Rick fast asleep in each others arms.

The young redhead turned to look at the medical examiner. They smiled at each other before they looked back to the bed.

"Now aint that the most beautiful picture you ever saw?" Lanie said with a chuckle.

"It is indeed." Alexis agreed, her face beaming.

The two women quietly left the bedroom closing the door on their way out.

Finis

**Author's note: To everyone who has read this story thank you so much. Also a very big thank you to each and everyone who has taken the time to send a review with their thoughts, opinions and suggestions. I can't tell you how much I loved receiving them and how inspiring I found them. Thank you again.**

**I don't know when I'll be posting again as I don't have any stories on the go but I have a few ideas bubbling around in my head.**

**So until next time,**

**Peace, Love and Happiness**

**Con**


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